At stake is a mega investigation by Turkish authorities into sports betting and fixed results.
The Turkish Football Federation has suspended more than a thousand players as part of a mega investigation into sports betting and match-fixing. The president of a first division club was also arrested.
This Monday, the Turkish federation announced that 1,024 players from various divisions of Turkish football were referred to a disciplinary committee. Already Murat Ozkaya, president of Eyupspor, was arrested by the authorities and was placed in pre-trial detention, according to the Turkish state agency Anadolu.
Among those targeted is Turkish international defender Eren Elmali, 25, who represents champions Galatasaray and who has since been removed from the national team training camp, which is preparing the last two qualifying games for the 2026 World Cup.
The player confessed, in having placed a bet on a game around five years ago, a game in which his team – at the time Kasimpasa – would not be involved.
In addition to Elmali, another Galatasary player, two from Besiktas and a total of 27 first division footballers were suspended. They risk being away from the field for a period of up to a year.
Arbitration was also targeted, with 17 referees being detained (seven were in preventive detention) and almost 150 suspended. A sports journalist was also detained.
Turkey’s third and fourth division championships have been suspended for two weeks. Conversely, the clashes in the first and second divisions will take place as planned.
