Turkey to discipline referees after uncovering mass betting

ANKARA (Agencies): Turkey’s football federation (TFF) will launch disciplinary action against referees found to have bet on football matches after discovering that hundreds of them had betting accounts, its president said on Monday. TFF President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu said a federation probe — based on data from state institutions — revealed that 371 of 571 active referees in Turkey’s professional leagues had betting accounts, and 152 of them were actively gambling. “As a federation, we started by cleaning up our own backyard,” Haciosmanoglu told a press conference in Istanbul. “Among those found to have betting accounts were seven top-level referees, 15 top-level assistants, 36 classified referees, and 94 classified assistants.” He said that some referees had placed a staggering number of bets, with one betting 18,227 times, and 42 referees having bet on more than 1,000 football matches each. Others were found to have placed bets only once. Haciosmanoglu said the federation’s disciplinary board would begin taking action immediately. “They will be referred to the disciplinary board and face the necessary penalties in accordance with our regulations,” he said, adding that the findings cover a five-year period under Turkey’s sports law. Under Article 57 of the TFF’s disciplinary code, those found guilty of betting on football matches face bans ranging from three months to one year from officiating or football-related activities.