New statement from Hacıosmanoğlu on the betting scandal! Words like a warning to clubs

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) recently referred 152 referees to the Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK) as part of a betting investigation. Following these developments, TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu issued a statement on the federation's official website, emphasizing their determination to clean up Turkish football.

In his statement, Hacıosmanoğlu noted that Turkish football is built on justice and transparency, stating that those who betray these values have no place in Turkish football. "The sacred lines of football are not a playground for anyone's interests! Refereeing is a matter of honor," said Hacıosmanoğlu, adding that referees involved in betting activities will be removed from Turkish football.

Stating that the federation's Ethics and Disciplinary Committees are examining the issue in detail, Hacıosmanoğlu emphasized that all football stakeholders who receive penalties due to betting will be subject to the necessary sanctions. He also added that the TFF will provide all kinds of support to the investigations carried out by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices.

The full text of Hacıosmanoğlu's statement is as follows:

"As the Board of Directors of the Turkish Football Federation, we have stated many times since the day we took office that we have maintained a fair, transparent, and determined stance in every area of Turkish football. We have never compromised on this understanding, and we will not.

The reputation of Turkish football is built on the sanctity of effort on the pitch and the unshakeability of justice. Every action that betrays these values is not just a rule violation, but a problem of trust.

In the examinations conducted in recent days, findings have reached us that some referees have been involved in betting activities in a way that is completely incompatible with the spirit of football. This situation is not just a violation; it is an abuse that wounds consciences and poisons justice.

As the President of the Turkish Football Federation, I state this clearly: The sacred lines of football are not a playground for anyone's interests! Refereeing is a matter of honor. Whoever tarnishes this honor, whoever is behind them, that person will never again have a place in Turkish football.

Our federation's Ethics Committee and Disciplinary Committee are investigating the matter in all its details. All football stakeholders who have received disciplinary penalties due to betting and whose penalties have been finalized - regardless of the level - will be subject to sanctions as stipulated by the relevant instructions.

Our fight against legal and illegal betting involving sports stakeholders will continue without hesitation.

In this context, I would like it to be known that as the Turkish Football Federation, we will provide all kinds of support to the investigations carried out by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices.

No one can tarnish the clean face of Turkish football, and we will not allow them to! This is a reckoning: a struggle fought with justice and conscience for a clean future. We will never take a step back from this struggle.

We are also carefully following the statements coming from our football stakeholders. We are saddened to see them using the problems experienced in the refereeing community as an opportunity to gain advantages for themselves or their communities.

Let it be known that; we will not remain silent against those who want to turn our struggle to create a clean football world into a reckoning over their own interests.

While we want to bring a clean football order to our society, no one has the audacity or the right to damage this struggle.

Furthermore, we would like to specifically state that we will continue to manage our current leagues with our referee brothers and sisters who serve with honor and are representatives of justice with their efforts within this order.

We expect our entire football family to both support these referee brothers and sisters and to be partners in our clean football struggle. We are behind our referee brothers and sisters who do their jobs properly until the end.

None of us will find peace until we clean Turkish football from suspicion, dirty relationships, and networks of interest. Accept this statement not as a warning, but as a turning point.

In order to carry Turkish football to the level we all miss and deserve, we expect the unity, solidarity, and determined support of our entire football community; we aim to build a stronger, fairer, and cleaner football future together.

İbrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu

President of the Turkish Football Federation"

News Source: 12punto