An Istanbul court has issued arrest warrants for eight suspects in a wide-ranging Turkish football betting investigation, the state-owned Anadolu news agency reported. The individuals are accused of abuse of office, match-fixing and other offenses, authorities say.
Among those targeted is Murat Ozkaya, president of Eyupsport, a club that plays in Turkey’s topflight Super Lig. Eleven other suspects who were detained on Friday have since been released on bail.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has also taken disciplinary action across the game, summoning 1,024 players to appear before its disciplinary committee on charges of betting on matches. More than 900 of those summoned compete in Turkey’s third and fourth divisions; all matches in those two tiers have been canceled for the past two weeks. Twenty-seven of the players called before the committee are from Super Lig clubs, including Galatasaray and Besiktas.
Galatasaray left back Eren Elmali was dropped from the national team for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Spain as the probe continues. Elmali posted on Instagram saying the allegation against him stems from a single bet placed years ago that did not involve his own team, and he defended his record, asserting he has never violated football’s ethical principles.
The scandal first emerged at the end of October, when the TFF disclosed allegations that 152 match officials had placed bets on football matches. The federation has suspended 149 head referees and assistant referees for periods of eight to 12 months. In a joint statement, the referees under suspicion denied the accusations, calling them “outrageous” and insisting none had bet on matches they officiated.