Khaberni - The Turkish football community was shaken by an unprecedented scandal after the Turkish Football Federation revealed the involvement of hundreds of referees in illegal betting activities, in one of the biggest crises Turkish football has faced in years.
Media personality Ben Jacobs reported on X that the investigations that began in April 2025 led to shocking results, as it was found that out of 571 referees investigated, 371 had betting accounts, while 152 of them actually participated in the bets, including referees in the Premier League and first division.
He added: "The official data announced by the Turkish Football Federation clarified that seven first division league referees, in addition to fifteen elite assistant referees, were involved in betting, alongside dozens of referees from the lower divisions. What was most shocking was that some of the bets were on matches within Turkey itself, including games these referees officiated directly, raising widespread questions about the integrity of a number of match outcomes in past seasons."
He continued: "The investigations also revealed staggering figures for betting activities, as it turned out that one referee conducted more than 18,000 separate bets through his personal account, with more than 42 other referees exceeding the thousand bets each. These numbers reflect the extent of the phenomenon within the Turkish refereeing system, and reveal the magnitude of the challenge facing the federation in attempting to restore trust in the football system."
According to the Turkish Football Federation, the public prosecutor's office has been officially informed and criminal files have been opened against the involved parties, in addition to the immediate suspension of several referees pending the completion of disciplinary and judicial investigations.
The president of the Turkish Football Federation, Ibrahim Ethem Haji Osman Oğlu, vowed to take strict measures, asserting that "cleansing Turkish football of all forms of corruption has become necessary if we want to restore it to its rightful place."
He pointed out that the local laws of the Turkish federation allow for penalties of up to suspension for one year, while the international system under FIFA allows for even stricter penalties, including suspension for up to three years and financial fines that could exceed one hundred thousand British pounds. It appears that the Turkish federation is determined to proceed in applying the maximum penalties to everyone found guilty.
Media reports mentioned that the scandal, which represents the biggest breach of sports integrity in the history of Turkish football, threatens to cause an earthquake in the refereeing system, as the percentage of those involved exceeds 65 percent of all active referees in the country, opening the door to calls for comprehensive reform of the refereeing system and stricter monitoring of referees' financial activities, with emphasis on the fact that restoring trust between fans and sports institutions will not be possible unless the field is cleansed of all forms of manipulation and betting.
