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Turkey Bans 102 Top-Division Players as Referees Suspended in Betting Scandal

The disciplinary rulings mark the first punishments in a sweeping betting probe.

Overview

  • Turkey’s disciplinary committee barred 102 players from the top two divisions for 45 days to one year over betting violations, including Eren Elmalı, Metehan Baltacı and Allasane Ndao, who plans to appeal.
  • The federation previously suspended 1,024 players across all levels and sent their cases to a disciplinary commission after publishing a named list.
  • Officials said 152 referees were referred for betting; 149 received suspensions of eight to twelve months.
  • Authorities arrested 24 referees last week, and seven of them plus Eyüpspor president Murat Özkaya were placed in pre-trial detention on allegations of influencing results.
  • The TFF says it sees no evidence of organized match-fixing and notes most referees lost money, as lower-tier leagues remain paused for two weeks while cases continue.