Turkey's football federation (TFF) has announced disciplinary action against hundreds of referees found to have betting accounts, after an investigation revealed widespread gambling among match officials. TFF president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu said on Monday that 371 of 571 active referees in professional leagues had betting accounts, with 152 actively gambling.
Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, Haciosmanoglu stated: 'As a federation, we started by cleaning up our own backyard.' He revealed that among those with accounts were seven top-level referees, 15 top-level assistants, 36 classified referees, and 94 classified assistants. One referee had placed 18,227 bets, while 42 had bet on more than 1,000 matches each.
The investigation, based on data from state institutions, covered a five-year period under Turkey's sports law. Haciosmanoglu confirmed that the federation's disciplinary board would take immediate action, with those found guilty facing bans of three months to one year under Article 57 of the TFF disciplinary code.
