A massive betting scandal has sent shockwaves through Turkish football, leading to the suspension of 102 players from the country’s top two divisions. The scandal broke just one day before the Harambee Stars’ arrival for their two-match international friendly tour, overshadowing Kenya’s tour in Turkey.
The Kenyan team has already faced Equatorial Guinea in a tight 1-0 defeat and is preparing for their final match against Senegal. However, the attention has been diverted to the unprecedented crisis rocking Turkish football.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) issued a series of bans after an investigation revealed that over 100 players were involved in illegal betting activities. The sanctions range from three months to a full year, impacting the integrity of the sport across the country.
The scandal’s fallout has extended beyond players to include referees. The TFF’s initial investigation revealed that 371 out of 571 professional referees were linked to betting accounts, with 152 actively placing wagers on matches. Among these, seven referees from the Super Lig were implicated in placing over 10,000 bets each.
This widespread corruption has resulted in several arrests, including that of Murat Ozkaya, the chairman of Super Lig club Eyupspor, and multiple referees. The situation has led to the postponement of matches in Turkey’s third and fourth divisions as authorities work to untangle the web of match-fixing.
The crisis also hit Galatasaray, with two players, Eren Elmali and Metehan Baltaci, being banned for their involvement in the scandal. Elmali, who received a 45-day suspension, defended himself on social media, claiming he had no knowledge of any betting activities linked to his former team.
As Turkish football grapples with its worst corruption crisis in years, the fallout continues to grow. The TFF president revealed that some referees had placed bets on more than 18,000 matches, raising questions about the integrity of the entire Turkish football system. With criminal investigations underway and several arrests made, the scandal threatens to unravel the credibility of the nation’s professional leagues, and it remains to be seen how this will impact international competitions in the future.
