The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has suspended 149 referees and assistant referees after a five-year probe revealed hundreds of professional match officials had engaged in betting, a practice strictly forbidden by TFF, FIFA, and UEFA regulations.
The investigation found that 371 out of 571 match officials held betting accounts, with 152 actively gambling.
Bans range from eight to 12 months, based on the severity of the offense. In one extreme case, an official was found to have placed 18,227 bets.
TFF President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu called the scandal an “ethical” and “moral crisis” in Turkish football.
Top clubs like Besiktas, Trabzonspor, and Fenerbahce have welcomed the discovery, viewing it as a hopeful “historic opportunity to rebuild justice” and mark a “new beginning for clean football.”
