Sawt Falasteen - Turkey's football referee chief faces judge in graft probe

Ferhat Gundogdu, head of the Central Referees Committee (MHK), and six others were detained on Tuesday as part of a probe into allegations of top-level manipulation of the referee administration process.

They were to appear before a judge at Istanbul's Caglayan courthouse on several charges, including "official document forgery", "breach of trust" and "illegal acquisition of personal data".

As part of the same probe by prosecutors with the illegal betting and sports crime unit, police also detained Yasin Kol, a referee from Turkey's top-flight Super Lig, as well as an assistant referee, media reports said.

"I haven't placed any bets. I just sent money to a few people I care about who asked me to lend them money," Kol said in remarks relayed by IHA news agency.

Another report in the Cumhuriyet daily said investigators were examining a list of referees shared between Gundogdu and the head of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu.

Ayhan Sensoy, a sports journalist who wrote a 2024 book on the issue called "The Gambling Pit", told AFP it was unlikely that the federation bosses "have any chance of staying in office".

Although the next TFF presidential election was due in June 2027, "it seems like they may announce a decision to hold an extraordinary general assembly within the next few days", Sensoy added.

- VAR room searched -

For now, the TFF administration is in Liege for Friday's UEFA Nations League match against Belgium, but Sensoy said they were likely to make an announcement on their return to Turkey on Saturday.

On Tuesday, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said that prosecutors were examining claims about "interference in the processes of referee classification, assignments, scoring and appointments, as well as the exams on rules".

"We will steadfastly continue the fight for clean football so... those responsible are held accountable," Gurlek said.

During the raids, police searched the VAR room at the TFF's headquarters in Riva on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Although the TFF made no mention of the arrests at the time, it issued a statement on Wednesday denying claims some material had been deleted before the police arrived.

"Allegations that digital materials in the relevant units of the Turkish Football Federation were deleted before the inspection, and that the deleted materials were recovered by police technical personnel are completely unfounded," it said.

One leaked document pointed to an exchange in which Super Lig referee Kol sent Gundogdu a list of referees, writing: "Chairman, whatever you think works."

Samil Tayyar, a journalist and lawmaker with the ruling AKP, said the exchange was very revealing.

"Football is not just a spectator sport. It is an industry where billions of dollars circulate" and the exchange between these two men should be read "with this perspective in mind," he wrote on X.

During last year's referee scandal, a TFF investigation found 371 of Turkey's 571 referees officiating in the professional leagues had betting accounts and 152 of them actively placed bets.

But they only faced disciplinary measures.

"It does seem to be a continuation of 2025, and it looks like it will continue further," Sensoy told AFP, saying the scandal would soon expose "second- and third-division club presidents, as well as club executives and club owners".

"Unfortunately, Turkey has experienced a serious wave of illegal betting over the past 10 years.. It's a serious problem."

S.Barghouti--SF-PST