Hundreds of Turkish football referees, including some at the national level, have been betting on matches despite the ban, the president of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said on Monday and promised immediate sanctions.
An internal investigation of 571 judges revealed that “371 have betting accounts, and 152 actively bet”, revealed Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu, the head of the association.
We are determined clear the football from all traces of corruption. We will not make exceptionsHaciosmanoglu said, adding that the “necessary sanctions” will be imposed “as early as today”, on Monday.
Ten incriminated judges had more than 10,000 bets, and one of them had 18,227. 42 judges each bet on more than 1,000 football matchesexplained the head of the TFF.
Haciosmanoglu, who claimed that they 22 out of 371 judges (seven central referees and 15 assistant referees) were referees refereeing at the national level (higher level), but did not specify their identity or emphasize whether any of them were suspected of betting on the matches they refereed.
Faced with accusations of bias that are regularly leveled against Turkish judges, the TFF in the spring of 2024. entrusted VAR (video aid during refereeing) several matches of the Turkish Super League foreign judges.
In February, a foreign referee even refereed the Istanbul derby between Galatasaray and their biggest rivals Fenerbahce, who have been accusing the referees of favoring their rivals for years.
(China | Photo: Illustration/UEFA)
