New message records in the referees file: 'Good morning Mr. President, you were going to send the questions'

In the "referees file" investigation conducted in 4 provinces centered in Istanbul, message records belonging to some suspects have been added to the file. It was stated that the records include expressions regarding the sharing of referee exam questions and correspondence concerning the non-assignment of certain referees.

The investigation, carried out by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office Bureau of Illegal Betting and Sports Crimes, continues regarding some suspects under the charges of "torment" and "forgery of official documents."

CORRESPONDENCE ADDED TO THE FILE

According to the examined records, referee G.H.E. sent a message to TFF Active Referees Association President Ferdi Karadoruk on May 15, 2025, regarding the refereeing exam. It was reported that G.H.E. used the phrase, "Good morning Mr. President, you were going to send the questions," and that Karadoruk replied, "I asked Kosif, let me ask again, teacher."

The records also show that G.H.E. reminded him of the questions again on May 19, 2025. It was stated that Karadoruk responded to this message by saying, "I am asking Emre for the third time, master. There is a May 19 program, I will return to you when it is finished."

In another piece of correspondence in the file, it was reported that Karadoruk sent a message to someone regarding provincial referee board member Mehmet Çaylak. It was noted that the message contained the phrases, "Do not give observer assignments to Mehmet Çaylak at all, brother, let's think 3 years ahead, brother, let's mob him if necessary, let him resign."

Within the scope of the investigation, an operation was carried out by the Istanbul Police Department's Anti-Financial Crimes Branch teams at addresses identified in Istanbul, Ankara, Elazığ, and Manisa. Open-source research, MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board) and HTS (Historical Traffic Search) studies, complainant and witness statements, and expert findings were evaluated in the file.

The names of the 7 people detained in the operation were announced as follows:

• - Ferhat Gündoğdu, MHK President
• - Ferdi Karadoruk, TFF Active Referees Association President
• - Ahmet Şahin, former TFF Central Referee Board Deputy President
• - Yunus Yıldırım, former TFF Central Referee Board Member
• - Sebahattin Şahin, TFF Training and 4th Region Supervisor
• - Alican Sağlar, TFF Referees and Observers Association Istanbul Branch Organization Supervisor
• - Emre Kosif, TFF Referees and Observers Association Istanbul Provincial Referee Board President