Khaberni - On Friday, the Disciplinary Committee of the Turkish Football Federation suspended 149 referees accused of betting on matches, violating their imposed bans.
The federation clarified that the suspension periods range between eight and twelve months, adding in its statement that investigations are still ongoing regarding three other referees also involved in the case.
An investigation conducted by the federation, which included 571 referees from various Turkish professional league tournaments, revealed on Monday that 371 of them have accounts for sports betting, while 152 actively participate in betting.
Ibrahim Haji Osman Oglu, head of the federation said on Thursday, "Refereeing is a profession of honor, and those who tarnish this honor will no longer participate in Turkish football," a statement that caused a great shock in the country.
According to the federation, 22 of the involved referees (7 main referees and 15 assistant referees) manage matches in the first division league.
The federation's president also mentioned that ten of these referees placed more than 10,000 bets, while one of the referees alone bet on 18,227 occasions. Additionally, 42 other referees each bet on more than a thousand football matches.
The federation did not clarify whether any of them had bet on matches they were officiating themselves.
An investigation has also been opened by the public prosecutor in Istanbul.
