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Turkey Bans 102 Top-Tier Players Over Betting Violations

The penalties follow a federation probe that uncovered widespread betting by participants across Turkish football.

Overview

  • The Professional Football Disciplinary Board issued sanctions of three to 12 months, with rulings set to become final after a seven-day appeal window.
  • Galatasaray’s Eren Elmali received a 45-day suspension, while team-mate Metehan Baltaci was banned for nine months.
  • The action follows the earlier suspension of 1,024 players across professional leagues, after which third- and fourth-division fixtures were paused for two weeks.
  • Prosecutors have pursued a parallel criminal inquiry, issuing detention orders for 21 people, including 17 referees and two club presidents.
  • Arrests confirmed so far include Eyüpspor chairman Murat Özkaya along with several referees, as the federation reviews integrity breaches that also implicated hundreds of match officials with betting accounts.