Istanbul prosecutors have ordered the arrest of forty six people, including twenty nine football players, in a widening investigation into illegal betting that has sent shockwaves through Turkish football.
According to a statement from the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office, twenty seven of the arrested players are suspected of placing bets on matches involving their own teams. One of those named is Metehan Baltaci of Turkish champions Galatasaray, who was already suspended for nine months earlier this month over the same scandal.
The investigation has intensified since November, when six referees and the president of Eyupspor, a Super Lig club, were placed in pre trial detention. Prosecutors did not release the names of the remaining twenty six players suspected of betting on their own team’s games, but confirmed that Fenerbahce midfielder Mert Hakan Yandas allegedly placed wagers through another person’s account.
Authorities say thirty five of the forty six individuals targeted in the latest arrest order have already been detained, while five others are believed to be outside Turkey. The group includes two club presidents accused of attempting to influence the outcome of a third division match during the 2023 to 2024 season. The fixture reportedly drew investigators’ attention when neither side attempted to score, prompting suspicion of manipulation.
The Turkish Football Federation has so far suspended more than one thousand players, including twenty five from the Super Lig, with bans ranging from forty five days to twelve months. Only one foreign player has been sanctioned: Konyaspor’s Senegalese winger Alassane Ndao, suspended for a year. The majority of those punished, more than nine hundred, come from lower league teams.
In October, the federation dismissed nearly one hundred fifty referees after suspending them for betting on matches, underscoring the scale of the crisis now engulfing Turkish football.
