Former referee Ali Tuna's testimony in the MHK investigation revealed: 'The exam paper is not mine'

The testimony given on September 15, 2025, by former Süper Lig assistant referee Ali Tuna as part of the MHK investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has been revealed. In his statement, Tuna expressed his belief that there were irregularities in the exam he took during the process of returning to refereeing and requested that the exam paper be sent for forensic examination. Tuna also made various allegations regarding MHK President Ferhat Gündoğdu, as well as certain MHK members and referees.

"He refused to show my exam paper"

Tuna stated, "On August 26, 2025, I was invited to the Hasan Doğan Facilities in Beykoz Riva and asked to participate in a seminar followed by an athletic test. However, contrary to established customs, a 10-question rule interpretation exam—which had never been applied to me or the other two colleagues returning from long-term leave with me—was administered, and 4 of the questions were selected from new rules of the game for which we had not received training. Despite this, we answered the questions and submitted our exam papers."

Continuing his testimony, Tuna said, "After the exam, MHK member Ali Zağlı conveyed the grade from Education Department official Sebahattin Şahin, informing me that I had not received a passing grade on the rules exam, that I was considered unsuccessful, and that I would not be allowed to take the athletic test."

Tuna stated that he asked to see his exam paper but that Şahin refused, adding, "When I insisted that what he was doing was a crime, Sebahattin Şahin let slip the phrase 'The order came from above,' which strongly created the impression of illegality and that the exam paper would be tampered with."

"I want my exam paper to be sent for forensic examination"

Tuna said, "For this reason, I believe that my exam paper may have been tampered with as an official document or completely replaced. Therefore, if the camera footage at the TFF premises is examined, the truth will emerge. I request that my exam paper be obtained from the TFF for the purpose of forensic examination and comparison, and that my signature and handwriting samples be taken and sent for forensic analysis."

"The document sent to me is not mine"

Tuna stated that he submitted a petition to the TFF Referee Affairs Directorate on September 1, 2025, requesting a copy of his exam paper, and that on September 5, 2025, he was sent an unsigned photocopy of an exam document. In his testimony, Tuna said, "The document they sent me does not belong to me. I do not know who wrote it. This is a situation that can only be clarified by taking my handwriting samples and comparing them with the document the TFF sent me."

"I was forced to end my refereeing career"

Tuna stated, "When my exam paper was not shown to me and I was prevented from participating in the athletic test, I was forced to end my refereeing career as there was no other way out. On August 27, 2025, I submitted a petition to the TFF stating that I was leaving refereeing, albeit reluctantly. The reason for the MHK's mobbing and hostility toward me dates back to their previous term."

He also made statements regarding Yunus Yıldırım

Tuna stated that the MHK's hostility toward him dated back to the previous term, alleging that MHK member and then-regional manager Yunus Yıldırım made a request regarding his private life on April 14, 2022. Tuna said, "MHK member and my regional manager at the time, Yunus Yıldırım, made a personal request regarding his private life over the phone on April 14, 2022. Due to my position, he wanted me to determine which hotels his girlfriend was staying at and with whom. I rejected this request on the grounds that it was unlawful and violated the privacy of private life. I was at home when this phone conversation took place, and my wife, Binnaz Tuna, was with me. Because I had the call on speakerphone, my wife heard Yıldırım's request. After this incident, Yıldırım began to harbor hostility toward me, and the MHK stopped assigning me matches or assigned them at long intervals. Referee assignments can be checked regarding this. When I could not get a response to my verbal applications, I sent a petition to the TFF Referee Affairs Directorate on September 1, 2025, requesting a copy of my exam paper. Four days later, an unsigned photocopy of an exam document that did not belong to me was sent to me. With this, they have shown how justified my suspicions were from the beginning of the process. The document they sent me is not mine. I do not know who wrote it."

Allegations he said were conveyed to him by Eren Acar

Tuna stated that after the process he went through was reflected in the national sports press, former TFF Referee Affairs Directorate employee Eren Acar called him on August 28, 2025. Continuing his testimony, Tuna said, "When the incident I experienced hit the national sports press during this process, many people called me. On August 28, 2025, Eren Acar, a former employee of the TFF Referee Affairs Directorate, called me to express his well wishes. In our conversation, he told me that Ferhat Gündoğdu had committed crimes many times. I told him I would file a criminal complaint against Ferhat Gündoğdu and asked for the information and documents he had. Upon this, Acar told me that Gündoğdu had changed and raised the grades of some referees during the top-class referee/assistant referee promotion course held in Riva in June 2025, thereby tampering with and falsifying official documents; that former referees and commentators Erman Toroğlu and Ahmet Çakar had called Gündoğdu on various dates to personally determine the referees to be assigned to matches, and that Gündoğdu complied with these requests by saying, 'Of course, sir, I am taking notes,' and that he made referee assignments in line with the instructions of these two former referees. This allegation is an act aimed at influencing the outcome of a competition. He also said that some club presidents called the MHK president before matches to talk on the phone and made these and similar requests, and that he also called referees many times before matches via voice FaceTime and voice WhatsApp calls. It is contrary to the ordinary flow of life for the MHK president not to make his calls via regular calls and to use the calling methods I mentioned above."

He requested that referees be heard as witnesses

Tuna said that FIFA Assistant Referee Kerem Ersoy also called him and stated that he had been subjected to mobbing and threats by the MHK President. Tuna requested that Ersoy's statements be taken. Stating that Süper Lig referees Tugay Kaan Numanoğlu and Burak Şeker also called him, Tuna reported that these individuals also said that MHK President Ferhat Gündoğdu had subjected them to similar incidents and mobbing. Tuna requested that these individuals be heard as witnesses.

"I am a plaintiff and a complainant"

At the end of his testimony, Tuna stated that he was a plaintiff and complainant against Ferhat Gündoğdu, Sebahattin Şahin, Yunus Yıldırım, and others to be identified. Tuna said, "I believe that Ferhat Gündoğdu falsified official documents and abused his duty to influence the outcome of a competition under the direction of certain individuals, and that Sebahattin Şahin participated in the crime by not showing me the document during the exam process and by implementing unlawful instructions."

News Source: 12punto