Operation shaking Turkish football: 13 clubs could be relegated!

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched a broad betting investigation covering executives from 13 clubs. In the operations conducted, it was determined that a large number of club executives placed bets on their own teams' matches for the opposing teams to win. This development indicates that the investigation is not limited to betting but has moved into the realm of match-fixing.

32 SUSPECTS IN CUSTODY DURING THE PROCESS

Although 33 suspects were identified within the scope of the operation, 32 of them were detained. While efforts continue to apprehend one suspect, the detained executives were taken from their addresses in various districts of Istanbul and brought to the police station. Along with the searches conducted, documents and digital data belonging to the suspects are also being examined.

EXECUTIVES ALSO IN THE MATCH-FIXING FILE

The striking aspect of this operation is that while betting and match-fixing investigations are usually conducted through referees, footballers, and coaches, this time club executives are also included in the match-fixing file. The prosecutor's office is investigating the suspects' actions under the charge of "influencing the outcome of a competition" in accordance with Article 11 of Law No. 6222. This officially turns the incident into a match-fixing file.

STATEMENT EXPECTED FROM TFF

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF), as in similar match-fixing investigations, will await the results of this investigation. In accordance with Article 56 of the Disciplinary Instructions, major sanctions can be imposed on clubs that bet against their own teams. If the mentioned match-fixing is determined, it could even lead to the relegation of the clubs to a lower league.

MONEY TRAFFIC UNDER INVESTIGATION

Former Chief Public Prosecutor and current Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek had stated, "Betting concerns individuals. To establish match-fixing, one must look at the money traffic." In line with these statements, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office will examine the money flow of the suspects in detail and will refer them to the court if any irregularities are detected.

DETAINED EXECUTIVES AND CLUBS

In the statement made by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the clubs and executives detained were listed as follows:

Giresunspor (9): Erdinç Hıdımoğlu, Ersin Sarıkaya, Ferhat Karademir, Gürkan Temür, İbrahim İnaç, Mustafa Tütüncü, Osman Topal, Tahsin Çoban, Yunus Emre Demirkol

Konyaspor (7): Hakan Faydasıçok, Kamil Yücel, Muhammet Ali Atasever, Osman Öztürk, Osman Serper

Antalyaspor (5): Aytaç Altay, Bahadır Haktanır, Cem Koç, Cesur Burak Akar, Tuncay Gülel

Adana Demirspor (3): Abdullah Sancak, Burhan Serkan Kalmaz, İhsan Çetinkaya

Alanyaspor (2): Hüsamettin Akyüz, Hüseyin Gümrükçüler

Denizlispor (2): Hüseyin Sorudak, Yavuz Cinkaya

Ankaragücü (1): Adem Başbilen

Yeni Malatya (1): Ahmet Topdağ

Kocaelispor (1): Orhan Dönmez

Bodrumspor (1): Caner Tuna

Gençlerbirliği (1): Süleyman Yurtseven

Göztepe (1): Enes Memiş

Sivasspor (1): Yasin Ocak

News Source: 12punto