Turkey’s football authorities have launched one of the largest disciplinary actions in the country’s sporting history, suspending more than 100 professional players and placing the entire refereeing system under criminal investigation as a widening betting scandal engulfs Turkish football.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced on Thursday that 102 players from the Süper Lig and the first division have been banned for periods between 45 days and one year. The suspensions affect 25 top-tier players and 77 from the second division, including Galatasaray defender Eren Elmalı, who was barred for 45 days, and his teammate Metehan Baltacı, suspended for nine months. Konyaspor’s Senegalese winger Alassane Ndao received a 12-month ban.
Several players admitted placing bets years ago, insisting the wagers never involved their own matches. Elmalı said he bet once five years earlier, long before joining Galatasaray, while Baltacı acknowledged past wagers made “without grasping the seriousness of the issue.” According to Turkish media, the bans apply only to matches, and players are allowed to continue training.
The crisis deepened this week after the TFF revealed that 371 of Turkey’s 571 registered referees hold betting accounts, with 152 actively placing wagers—including seven elite referees and 15 assistants. One official reportedly placed more than 18,000 bets, while dozens wagered on over 1,000 football games.
TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said the federation would “cleanse Turkish football of corruption and unethical practices,” confirming that all implicated referees will be sent to the disciplinary board. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has accepted the federation’s findings as an official complaint and expanded its ongoing match-fixing and illegal betting investigation, which spans the past five years.
The scandal has triggered outrage among Turkey’s biggest clubs. Galatasaray President Dursun Özbek called the revelations a “turning point” and demanded full transparency, including the publication of the referees’ names and the matches they officiated. Fenerbahçe President Sadettin Saran said the findings validate long-standing concerns about officiating integrity, while Beşiktaş also called for the immediate release of the referees’ identities.
The TFF has temporarily halted all matches in the third and fourth divisions for two weeks, though the Süper Lig and first division continue. With more than 1,000 players already referred to the Professional Football Disciplinary Board, and the prosecutor’s probe still expanding, Turkish football faces one of its most serious integrity crises in recent memory.
