The Turkish Football Federation has suspended 1,024 players from its professional leagues as part of an investigation into betting.
According to the TFF, players who have been identified as having bet on football, including 27 from Turkey’s top flight, have been referred to the country’s Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK).
After the move, matches in the third and fourth divisions of Turkish football have been postponed for two weeks, although games in the country’s top two divisions will continue.
The TFF has asked world governing body FIFA for an extra 15 days in addition to the winter transfer window so that clubs can deal with squad shortages. FIFA has been asked for comment.
One of Turkey’s biggest clubs, Besiktas, issued a statement saying two of their players had been referred to the PFDK and that they had “full faith” in the innocence of the pair.
Journalists also reported that eight people, including a club chairman, had been arrested by Turkish authorities as part of their investigations.
The scandal initially hit the headlines on 27 October, when TFF president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu said hundreds of referees were linked to betting accounts.
Haciosmanoglu claimed that out of 571 referees working in Turkey’s professional leagues, 371 had betting accounts and 152 were actively placing wagers.
He said the group included seven referees and 15 assistant referees from Turkey’s top two divisions, as well as 36 “classified” referees and 94 assistants from the level below.
The TFF president added that 10 referees each placed more than 10,000 bets. One referee placed 18,227, while 142 referees placed bets on more than 1,000 matches. Some referees only placed a single bet.
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Players, coaches, and match officials are forbidden from participating in betting activities by TFF regulations, as well as those of FIFA and the European governing body UEFA.
Turkish prosecutors recently issued detention orders for 21 people – including 17 referees and two football club presidents – as part of a major investigation into betting and match fixing.
