8 arrested, including club chairman, 1,024 footballers banned
Turkish authorities on Monday (November 10) arrested eight people on charges of illegal betting on football matches. Among those arrested was Murat Özkaya, chairman of top club Ayüspor. At the same time, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) temporarily banned 1,024 players as part of a disciplinary investigation.
The measures come in a context where the TFF earlier this month dismissed 149 referees and assistant referees. An investigation has found that several officials in charge of Turkey’s professional leagues were themselves involved in betting on football matches.
The court has issued formal arrest warrants for Ayüspor chairman Murat Özkaya and seven others, state news agency Anadolu reported. However, there was no immediate comment from the club.
In a statement, the TFF said it had referred a total of 1,024 players from all levels to the Professional Football Disciplinary Council (PFDK), including 27 players from the top-tier Super League. All of them have been provisionally banned. The 27 include players from reigning champions Galatasaray and Istanbul rivals Besiktas.
The TFF said: “1,024 players have been referred to the Disciplinary Council, so urgent discussions are underway with FIFA to approve an additional 15-day special transfer and registration period outside the 2025-26 winter transfer window to fill gaps in clubs’ squads.”
In addition, all matches in the second and third tier leagues have been suspended for two weeks. Local media reported that the TFF board will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday afternoon. FIFA, football’s top governing body, has not yet commented on the TFF’s request or the ongoing investigation. TFF President Ibrahim Hasiosmanoglu called the incident a “moral crisis in Turkish football”. The federation’s own investigation found that 371 of the 571 referees active in Turkey’s professional leagues had betting accounts and 152 of them were actively gambling. One referee alone placed 18,227 bets, while 42 referees placed bets on more than 1,000 football matches. In some cases, evidence of betting was found only once.
