An Istanbul court last Monday ordered the preventive detention of 11 players from Turkey’s first and second divisions. Among them, nine are accused of having bet on their own team’s matches, Turkish media reported.
Among the five first division players charged are Galatasaray defender Metehan Baltaci; Alassane Ndao, Senegalese winger for Konyaspor; and Mert Hakan Yandas, Fenerbahçe midfielder, accused of placing bets through third parties.
Judges ordered the preventive detention of nine other suspects, including the presidents of two third division clubs accused of match-fixing during the 2023/24 season.
Nineteen suspects were released under judicial supervision, including four players from the Süper Lig, the elite of Turkish football.
Around 40 people were arrested last week as part of a vast investigation by the Istanbul prosecutor’s office on suspicion of illegal betting and match-fixing.
These investigations, which shook Turkish football, had already led to the arrest, at the beginning of November, of six Turkish referees and the president of Eyüspor, a first division club.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) also fired around 150 referees last month, accusing them of actively betting on matches.
The TFF, which claims to want to “clean up” Turkish football, has imposed suspensions of up to 12 months on 25 first division players and nearly a thousand others playing in the second, third and fourth divisions for the same reason.
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