Istanbul (AFP) – The head of arbitration in Turkey and six other people appeared before a judge on Friday, a few days after their arrest in a nebulous affair which is shaking the entire Turkish Football Federation (TFF).

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 15:00

The president of the Central Committee of Referees (MHK) of the TFF, Ferhat Gündogdu, his vice-president and five other suspects were arrested and placed in police custody on Tuesday following a raid organized simultaneously in four provinces of the country.

According to Turkish media, all were brought to the Istanbul court in Caglayan at midday. They are accused in particular of "falsification of official documents", "breach of trust" and "illegal acquisition of personal data".

The investigation was entrusted to the Illegal Betting and Sports Crimes Bureau of the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office. The court could decide during the day on their possible placement in pre-trial detention.

Two other referees officiating in the Süper Lig, the first division of the Turkish professional championship, were taken into custody by the financial crimes unit of the Istanbul police, according to several sites.

"I didn't place any bets. I only lent money to people I liked and who asked me for it," field referee Yasin Kol was quoted as saying in local media.

The business continues to grow. Some sites reported an embarrassing conversation recorded between the head of the referees and the president of the federation himself, Ibrahim Hacıosmanoglu.

The latter is, for the moment, not worried by the courts.

Ayhan Sensoy, sports journalist and author in 2024 of a book on the subject ("Bahis Cukuru", or "The Pit at the Game") assured AFP that he doubted that the current Turkish football leaders "have the slightest chance of remaining in office".

Other suspects in the hot seat

According to him, elections are planned for 2027 "but it seems that they could convene an extraordinary general assembly within a few days", he predicts, noting that the executives of the federation are in Belgium, where Turkey faces the Red Devils on Friday evening in the League of Nations.

On Tuesday, Justice Minister Akin Gürlek spoke on

The TFF, for its part, assured that it was cooperating with the authorities and having “filed several criminal complaints with the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office since April 2025”.

She also firmly denied "the allegations according to which digital documents (...) were deleted" before the search.

Still others point to another recorded telephone conversation this time between the boss of MHK and referee Yasin Kol, in which the latter seems to choose his assistants and his video referee (VAR). He was arrested Thursday evening after officiating during a friendly meeting.

Football "is an industry where billions of dollars circulate" and the exchange between the two men should be read "keeping this perspective in mind", wrote on

A year ago, a survey by the federation of 571 referees in professional leagues revealed that 371 of them had sports betting accounts and 152 actively bet.

Only disciplinary measures had been taken.

The arrests this week "seem to be a continuation of 2025", believes Ayhan Sensoy, who says that the next on the list are presidents of second and third division clubs, as well as club managers and owners.

“Unfortunately, Turkey has experienced a serious wave of illegal betting over the past ten years.”

© 2026 AFP

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