FIGHTING MATCH FIXING IN TÜRKİYE

Current situation

Since the end of 2025, Turkish football has been going through the most extensive judicial and administrative investigation process in its history.

The „football betting and match-fixing“ investigation, which spans referees, players, club executives, coaches and agents alike, continues to produce significant consequences both for criminal proceedings and for sports disciplinary law.

How the investigation began

The investigation began with a statement made on 27 October 2025 by İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, President of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF). That statement disclosed that 371 out of 571 referees active in Türkiye held betting accounts; that 152 of them had actually placed bets; and that one referee alone had placed bets on 18,227 occasions!

That statement was treated as a formal notification (ihbar), triggering simultaneous administrative/disciplinary proceedings at the TFF and criminal investigations by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In its first phase, the investigation targeted referees and club executives; it later expanded to cover players, head coaches, agents, match delegates, equipment staff, doctors and interpreters, in short, a broad cross-section of stakeholders in Turkish football.

Operations and the criminal process

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has carried out a series of successive operations under this investigation:

– In December 2025, an operation was conducted in which numerous suspects were detained; 20 of them were subsequently arrested, whilst 19 were released under judicial control measures.

– On 20 February 2026, simultaneous raids were carried out at 33 addresses across 10 provinces centred on Istanbul, resulting in the detention of 32 suspects.

– By the end of February 2026, an indictment had been prepared against a total of 52 suspects, including the 5 who had been arrested in the first wave; separate criminal cases were opened against each defendant before the competent courts.

– Subsequently, supplementary indictments were prepared against a further 34 suspects.

The indictments seek convictions against the defendants for offences including „providing an incentive premium to influence the outcome of a match,“ „match-fixing,“ „fraud in betting games,“ and, for certain individuals, „establishing and managing a criminal organisation.“

In addition, one strand of the investigation is based on financial analyses conducted by the Turkish Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) covering the years 2020–2026. On this basis, detention orders were issued against 19 club executives on allegations that, during their terms in office, they had placed bets, such as backing the opposing team or over/under goal markets against their own clubs‘ matches. This data is regarded as reinforcing suspicions of organised match fixing.

3. Applicable criminal law provisions

The legal basis of the investigation rests primarily on Article 11 of Law No. 6222 on the Prevention of Violence and Disorder in Sports.

Under this provision, a person who influences the outcome of a sports match through match-fixing or an incentive premium is liable to imprisonment for one to three years, together with a judicial fine. Where the act is committed in an organised manner through a criminal organisation, the relevant provisions of the Turkish Penal Code on criminal organisations also come into play, resulting in more severe sanctions.

Placing bets itself, if it is done through licensed betting platforms, is not generally a criminal offence. Unlawfulness arises specifically where a player, referee or executive places bets on their own match, or engages in conduct directly aimed at influencing a match outcome.

An important issue concerns the statute of limitations: Under Article 14 of the TFF Football Disciplinary Code, disciplinary investigations are subject to a five-year limitation period, after which, with the exception of conduct aimed at influencing a match outcome, no new disciplinary investigation may be opened. This exception allows the judicial authorities to reach further back in time specifically where organised match-fixing is alleged.

4. TFF disciplinary proceedings

In parallel with the criminal investigation, the TFF has taken wide-ranging administrative measures under its Football Disciplinary Code (FDT):

– 1,024 players found to have placed bets were referred, as a precautionary measure, to the Professional Football Disciplinary Committee (PFDK); following review, 102 players received bans ranging from 45 days to 12 months.

– 297 coaches who had worked in professional leagues below the Süper Lig over the preceding five years were referred to the PFDK as a precautionary measure.

– 103 player agents received bans ranging from 45 days to 12 months, and 32 match delegates received bans ranging from 2 to 12 months.

– In total, more than 400 individuals connected to football have been drawn into the disciplinary process.

The „match-fixing and incentive premium“ violation set out in Article 56 of the FDT exposes not only the individual concerned, but also the club to which they belong.

Depending upon the severity of the violation, clubs may face relegation or the deduction of at least 12 points. Under Article 26(4) of the Football Competition Instructions, even where five years have passed and the relevant season’s league standings have already been registered, a finding of match-fixing may result in the retroactive annulment of that registration, which means that even sporting results may be reopened after the fact.

5. Legal nature of the process

Two separate legal tracks are proceeding in parallel:

1. Criminal proceedings: the investigation and resulting criminal cases conducted by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, governed by Law No. 6222 and the relevant provisions of the Turkish Penal Code, carrying the risk of imprisonment and judicial fines.
2. Sports disciplinary proceedings: the PFDK process conducted under the TFF internal regulations (the FDT and the Football Competition Instructions), carrying sporting sanctions such as suspension, transfer bans, points deductions and relegation.

These two tracks are conducted independently of one another, although, in practice, the PFDK has, at times, chosen to await the outcome of the criminal investigation, or has lifted administrative measures depending upon how the criminal process develops. For individuals who are defendants or otherwise implicated, it is essential to exercise the right of defence effectively and separately in each track, since the findings reached by the disciplinary committee may not always align with the conclusions ultimately reached by the criminal court.

6. Key considerations for the affected parties

For individuals who have given statements, been detained, or been referred to the PFDK in connection with this investigation, the principal legal risks and points warranting a defence strategy include:

– Evaluation of evidence: properly distinguishing between the mere existence of a betting-site account and an actual act of influencing a match outcome, since holding a betting account does not, by itself, constitute match fixing.

– Limitation objections: raising, in a timely and procedurally proper manner, objections based on the disciplinary limitation period for conduct predating 2020.

– Proportionality of measures: assessing, on a case-by-case basis, whether judicial control measures, detention and administrative measures, such as suspension from duties or precautionary referral, are proportionate.

– Club liability: examining separately whether the individual conduct of executives is attributable to the club’s legal personality, and whether it was carried out with the knowledge and will of the club’s governing bodies.

– Coordination between the two tracks: closely monitoring the effect of statements and evidence in the criminal file on the disciplinary file, and vice versa.

This investigation, which began at the end of 2025 and expanded throughout 2026, has become one of the most extensive match fixing and betting cases in the history of Turkish football, and remains ongoing.

Further operations, supplementary indictments and PFDK decisions are expected, and it is of considerable importance for the individuals and clubs affected, whether in the criminal proceedings or in the TFF disciplinary proceedings, to obtain legal advice and support.

We are ready to provide legal advice and support

Our Law firm closely follows every stage of football betting and match-fixing investigations from the criminal investigation and indictment process before the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the criminal courts, to disciplinary proceedings before the PFDK and, where relevant, proceedings before the TFF Arbitration Committee and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Whether as a player, referee, coach, agent, match delegate or club executive, who has been contacted for a statement, detained, referred to the PFDK, or whose club is facing sanctions, such as points deductions or relegation, we provide tailored legal advice and representation at every stage of the criminal and the sports disciplinary proceedings.

For further information email the Head of our Turkish Law Practice, Gurur Gaye Günal, at gunal@valloni.ch.