TFF Audit Finds 371 Officials with Gambling Accounts; Prosecutor Launches Match-Fixing Probe
Istanbul, Turkey: A major corruption scandal has erupted in Turkish football, as the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) revealed that 371 of its 571 professional league referees were found to hold betting accounts. The alarming findings immediately prompted the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to launch a formal investigation into potential match-fixing and corruption.
According to reports, TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu disclosed the figures on Monday, following a five-year audit conducted with state authorities. The audit revealed that 152 referees were actively placing bets, including seven top-class referees and 15 top-class assistant referees.
The scale of the betting was extreme: One referee alone placed a staggering 18,227 bets. A total of 42 officials individually wagered on over 1,000 football matches.
Hacıosmanoğlu condemned the revelations as a sign of “corruption” plaguing the sport and announced immediate disciplinary action. The implicated officials will be referred to the TFF’s disciplinary board for penalties under federation rules.
Furthermore, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office accepted the TFF President’s statement as a formal denunciation, announcing it will “further deepen” an existing investigation to examine potential violations of laws preventing sports irregularities, federation rules, and betting legislation.
The scandal has drawn fierce reactions from major clubs, with Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş all demanding the TFF transparently publish the names of the involved referees and the details of their wagers to ensure a complete clean-up of the league.
