Trial of Fenerbahçe President Sadettin Saran adjourned

Fenerbahçe Sports Club President Sadettin Saran appeared in court as part of a case opened on charges of "encouraging illegal betting."

Saran and the lawyers for the parties attended the first hearing of the case held at the Istanbul 23rd Criminal Court of First Instance.

In his defense in court, Saran said, "Our main business is sports broadcasting. We cannot intervene in the advertisements within the broadcasts coming from abroad."

He argued that intervening in the advertisements would technically lead to signal distortion. He stated that before the investigation was opened, they warned the broadcasters about clean signals, and when they did not get results, they removed some leagues from the broadcast.

Stating that they met with the UEFA President and that the issue was conveyed to the President, Saran said, "I am the child of a civil servant; I built my company with my own sweat and blood for 30 years. We do not encourage illegal betting."

"MY MONTHLY INCOME IS 5 MILLION TL"

In his defense during the hearing, Sadettin Saran declared that his monthly income was 5 million TL after introducing himself.

Continuing, Saran stated that the sports broadcasts on the channel he owns are obtained from abroad and pointed out that they do not have the opportunity to intervene in the content of the broadcasts in question.

Underlining that the broadcasts are reflected on the screen as they are received from the foreign broadcaster, Saran said that they have no intention of encouraging illegal betting advertisements.

HEARING ADJOURNED TO JUNE 4, 2026

The Istanbul 23rd Criminal Court of First Instance decided to have an expert examination conducted on the footage related to the case in which Fenerbahçe Sports Club President Sadettin Saran and 3 others are being tried on allegations of broadcasting illegal betting advertisements. The hearing was adjourned to June 4.

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had filed a lawsuit against 4 people, including Fenerbahçe Sports Club President and businessman Sadettin Saran, demanding a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years on the allegation that illegal betting advertisements were included during football matches broadcast on the internet platform "S SPORT."

News Source: İHA