Turkish Soccer Says It Has Widespread Ref Gambling Problem

The governing body for soccer in Turkey announced on Monday that it will be taking action against referees who bet on soccer games after finding hundreds of them have gambling accounts and have been betting.

Turkish Football Federation president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu announced that 371 of Turkey’s 571 active professional referees were found to have betting accounts, 152 of whom were actively gambling. Of the 152 referees, seven of them are officials in the top level (called the Süper Lig), 15 are top-level assistants, 36 are lower division referees, and 94 are assistants. While some had only bet one time, 42 referees were found to have bet on more than 1,000 soccer matches. One in particular bet 18,277 times. The investigation spanned five years of betting.

“They will be referred to the disciplinary board and face the necessary penalties in accordance with our regulations,” Haciosmanoglu said of the referees. The federation’s rules around betting say bans can last from three months to one year.

Haciosmanoglu also said clubs need to “investigate themselves, including the players.”

“We know the Turkish football needs a change,” Haciosmanoglu said. “Our duty is to elevate Turkish football to its rightful place and to purge it of all its filth.”

Representatives for UEFA and FIFA deferred to the Turkish federation.

Last week, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered his cabinet to “eradicate illegal online gambling by whatever means necessary.”

The widespread scandal comes less than a week after another high-profile sports betting probe: the FBI’s investigation into game fixing in the NBA. On Thursday, federal authorities indicted Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and former player Damon Jones for conspiring to impact their own performance or share nonpublic information resulting in big sports betting wins. (Former player Jontay Porter already pleaded guilty to his involvement in the scheme last year.)

The case renewed questions across sports about individuals’ ability to impact and profit off of betting markets, an issue that has touched down in professional soccer before. Since 2018, prominent players including Bradley Wood, Ivan Toney, Kynan Isaac, and Bruno Henrique all received suspensions ranging from 12 matches to 10 years for their ties to sports betting and match fixing. West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta was also tied to match-fixing allegations but cleared of those charges this summer.