Turkish football is having one of its best seasons in the last decade — at least on the pitch. Galatasaray shines in the Champions League, led by the phenomenal Victor Osimhen, who has become a sensation in European stadiums. Young Arda Güler, the pride of the entire nation, is playing in the form of life in Real Madrid, recording goals and assists that put him at the very top of the world’s talents. Even the senior national team led by Vincenzo Montella shows the greatest potential in years.
But in Turkey, football is never just football. And just when everything looked promising, there came an explosion of scandal that shook the foundations of the sport.
Shocking findings of the internal investigation: 371 judges have betting accounts, 152 actively gamble
The president of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), Ibrahim Hacıosmanoğlu — known for his hardline stance and turbulent past — promised to “drain the swamp.” After an internal investigation, he published the results that confirmed the worst suspicions. According to TFF’s findings: 371 out of a total of 571 active referees have open accounts on betting platforms, 152 referees and assistant referees were actively involved in betting, and among them seven referees from the elite Süper Liga. Only one judge paid more than 18,000 bets in five years, while 42 of them had more than 1,000 bets per person.
These data, according to commentators, would sound like satire — if they were not real.
Referees are strictly prohibited from betting on football under the FIFA code, but many have defended themselves by claiming that they did not play in the games they officiated or that they opened accounts “just to watch the broadcasts”. But trust has already been seriously damaged.
Suspicions have simmered for years: A tradition of mistrust, conspiracy theories and fan wars
For decades, the Turkish football scene has been plagued by mutual accusations between the biggest clubs – Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor. Every controversial VAR decision, every penalty, every red card was greeted as a planned manipulation.
The climax came in 2011, during the last major match-fixing scandal. In 2015, a Fenerbahçe bus was shot at, which the club linked to an atmosphere of hostility over allegations of match-fixing. In the same year, Hacıosmanoğlu, then president of Trabzonspor, locked the referees in the stadium overnight, only releasing them after the intervention of the president of the country, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In 2023, Ankaragücü president Faruk Koca ran onto the field and punched referee Halil Umut Meller in the face.
Tensions became such that the TFF had to bring in a foreign referee, Dane Danny Makkelie, to control the Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe derby. That’s why fans are convinced the system is deeply compromised — and now they say the new investigation only confirms what they’ve felt for years.
TFF introduces the most radical crackdown in history: Mass suspensions, AI-VAR, criminal investigations
Hacıosmanoğlu announced a firm policy to clean up the system. Thus, 149 referees and assistant referees were immediately suspended, an advanced VAR system with AI analysis was introduced, and an anonymous line for reporting rigging and corruption was formed. The investigation extended to clubs, managers and players.
The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal investigation, while 21 people were arrested, including Murat Özkaya, the president of Eyüpspor.
But the biggest blow was yet to come.
The scandal spread to the players: More than 1,000 footballers under investigation, 102 suspended
The TFF then published a massive list of sanctions. Over 1,000 players from all leagues have been referred to criminal investigation authorities, and 102 professional players from the first and second leagues have been suspended. Penalties range from 45 days to a year, and 25 players from the Süper Liga are among those suspended.
National team members were not spared either. Eren Elmalı received a 45-day suspension for the 2019 bet, while his teammate Metehan Baltacı (U21 national team) was suspended for nine months.
The third and fourth leagues temporarily suspended the competition for two weeks, while the first two leagues continue with drastically weakened squads.
Hacıosmanoğlu: “The sun will rise after darkness. Football must be cleaned.”
In a dramatic announcement, the TFF president emphasized: “If we want to bring Turkish football to where it deserves, we must clean up everything that is dirty.” He added that every darkness has its morning. “The sun must rise. It is our duty to restore honor to football. Only the deserving will win.”
If the TFF manages to complete the investigation, this could be the biggest and deepest clean-up process in the history of European football, which would finally stabilize one of the most turbulent sports systems in Europe.
And until then, Turkey waits — and hopes that after this upheaval, a new, fairer chapter in its football will come.
(TIP/Source: federalna.ba/The Guardian/Photo: X)
