The 2025 Turkish football corruption and betting scandal refers to a series of investigations into allegations of illegal sports betting involving referees, club executives and footballers in Turkish professional football that began on 27 October 2025, when the Turkish Football Federation announced that an internal audit found evidence suggesting widespread betting activity.
The scandal involves allegations that hundreds of referees and footballers had breached FIFA and UEFA integrity rules, prohibiting them in any capacity from gambling, including simply holding betting accounts.
By late 2026, the investigation had expanded to include the Central Referees Committee (MHK), with judicial inquiries and detentions concerning allegations of match manipulation and irregularities in referee classifications and appointments.
Background In early 2025, Turkish football faced increasing scrutiny. In February, FIFA-listed referee Yaşar Kemal Uğurlu resigned after being linked to gambling in a casino located in Northern Cyprus. In September, several referees filed criminal complaints against the TFF, alleging mobbing, unfair match assignments, and pressure to favor certain clubs, prompting judicial investigations. The TFF subsequently initiated an audit of referees' financial activities concerning potential betting violations.
In April 2025, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation into betting involving several referees. As a result of this investigation, and after complaints were made by some referees, the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation into the MHK. Then, the case was moved to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office due to lack of jurisdiction. After that, the two investigations were combined and proceeded as one case.
On 30 September 2025, eighteen companies owned by Turgay Ciner, including Kasımpaşa and Ciner Media Group were seized and placed under the receivership of the TMSF (Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Türkiye).
During his presidency, Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç repeatedly alleged the existence within Turkish football of a network he referred to as the yapı (“the structure”), particularly within the MHK and TFF.Koç claimed that the network influenced referee appointments, VAR decisions, and match outcomes, allegedly benefiting certain clubs and creating an unfair competitive environment.
According to Article 11 of Turkey's Law No. 6222 on Preventing Violence and Disorder in Sports (2011, amended 2017), the person responsible for the manipulation of the sporting event's result will be sentenced to 1 to 3 years of imprisonment and a penalty of up to 20,000 judicial days. The law provides penalties for offenses including match-fixing and bribery and applies to participants in sporting competitions, including referees and players. Penalties may increase to 5-12 years imprisonment under Article 11/3 if organized crime is involved.
According to the Turkish Football Disciplinary Regulations (FDT), penalties exceeding 45 days imposed on referees may result in the initiation of licence revocation proceedings.
Timeline According to Türkiye newspaper journalist Tahir Kum the investigation was initially launched following suspicious bets placed on the 2024–25 Second League match between Ankaraspor and Nazillispor in which neither team registered a shot. Kum stated in the news headline, "This incident began with the match between Ankaraspor and Nazillispor, and the high volume of betting on that match." On 11 September 2025, roughly 1.5 years after the match, the TFF imposed bans on two club presidents and 18 footballers after conducting an investigation.
October 2025 The audit reported betting activity among referees that could constitute violations of applicable integrity rules. This audit included all 571 professional referees currently officiating in Turkey from every level of the sport. The audit found that 371, or 65%, of the active professional referees held registered betting accounts, which, according to FIFA and UEFA regulations, may constitute a violation as referees are prohibited from any gambling, and simply having a betting account is a violation.
Of these, 152 referees were found to have actively placed bets on football matches. This included both domestic competitions, like the Süper Lig and lower-tier Turkish leagues, and international fixtures. Among the implicated officials, seven were elite main referees from the Süper Lig, 15 were elite assistant referees, 36 were regional main referees, and 94 were regional assistant referees.
Hacıosmanoğlu described the findings as severe and indicative of long-standing governance issues. Ten referees were reported to have placed more than 10,000 bets each, with one referee reported to have placed 18,227 bets. 42 referees were found to have placed more than 1,000 wagers specifically on football matches.
Hacıosmanoğlu described the issue as systemic and stated that the federation intended to implement disciplinary and oversight measures. Under the TFF Disciplinary Code Article 57, gambling violations lead to penalties of three months to one-year bans. Furthermore, Hacıosmanoğlu announced plans for a referee training program emphasizing ethical compliance, enhanced oversight mechanisms, such as real-time monitoring of referee financial activities and collaboration with law enforcement to investigate potential match-fixing linked to betting patterns.
Approximately 5 hours after Hacıosmanoğlu's press conference, journalist Murat Ağırel alleged on social media that MHK President Ferhat Gündoğdu had an active betting account. Furthermore, Kum claimed that a club president placed 3,057 bets and won 476 times, a masseur placed 2,399 bets and won 329 times, a footballer placed 1,950 bets and won 340 times, while another footballer and coaching staff members were found to have placed bets 15,987 times and won 3,138 times.
On 28 October, the TFF took disciplinary action against the 152 referees, referring them to the Professional Football Discipline Board (PFDK). Seven top flight main referees along the 152 were Zorbay Küçük, Egemen Artun, Mehmet Ali Özer, Melih Kurt, Muhammed Selim Özbek, Seyfettin Alper Yılmaz and Yunus Dursun.
Among the 7, Yunus Dursun and Egemen Artun were each given a 10-month ban, while Muhammed Selim Özbek, Mehmet Ali Özer and Seyfettin Alper Yılmaz were each given an 8-month ban. It was also decided to continue the investigation into the allegations of betting activities involving top-tier referees Zorbay Küçük and Melih Kurt and lower-tier referee Mertcan Tubay. The remaining 144 referees officiating in lower divisions were all punished with 8 to 12 month bans; due to these penalties exceeding 45 days, the refereeing rights of the 144 referees and 5 Süper Lig elite level referees were terminated.
Küçük's lawyer argued that two fake betting accounts had been opened in the referee's name and that his identity details had been stolen by a foreign individual. Küçük stated that he had never held an account with a betting site or placed any bets, either before or during his refereeing career.
On 31 October, during a political rally in Esenyurt, Republican People's Party (CHP) Chair Özgür Özel claimed that the red card shown to Göztepe player in a Süper Lig match against an undisclosed team was "unfairly issued" and correlated with a substantial bet. Özel claimed that 5.5 million TL was wagered on the Northern Cyprus red card that same day. Subsequently, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an ex officio investigation on 31 October 2025 into the claims of illegal betting and potential match manipulation related to the match.
November 2025 On 1 November, Beşiktaş announced that the club had applied to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to participate as a party in the investigation.
On 6 November, the 152 suspended referees issued a collective statement vehemently denying that they ever placed bets on matches they officiated. They admitted some had participated in online betting years ago, during their amateur days, also accusing the federation of turning them into scapegoats in a politically charged operation.
On 7 November, a detention order was issued for a total of 21 individuals, 17 referees and the president of Süper Lig side Eyüpspor Murat Özkaya, former Kasımpaşa owner and fugitive Turgay Ciner and former club president Fatih Saraç whose terms ended on 30 September 2025, following a trustee appointment by the Turkish government. Saraç was released after his statement was taken.
On 10 November, eight suspects, including Eyüpspor Club President Özkaya and six referees, were arrested, while 11 suspects were released under judicial supervision.
On the same day, TFF announced that 1,024 footballers were referred to the PFDK on the grounds of betting, of the 1,024 players, 27 were Süper Lig players; while the other players referred were 77 from the First League, 282 from the Second League, 629 from the Third League, and 9 from amateur leagues.
The TFF postponed Second and Third League fixtures for two weeks, stating that the postponement would allow clubs to address gaps in their squads, while matches in the Süper Lig and First League would continue as previously announced.
Among the 1,024 players, the 27 Süper Lig footballers included were Beşiktaş's Necip Uysal and Ersin Destanoğlu, Alanyaspor's İzzet Çelik, Enes Keskin, Yusuf Özdemir and Bedirhan Özyurt, Rizespor's Efe Doğan and Furkan Orak, Galatasaray's Metehan Baltacı and Eren Elmalı, Gaziantep FK's Muhammet Taha Güneş and Nazım Sangare, Göztepe's Furkan Malak and Uğur Kaan Yıldız, Antalyaspor's Kerem Kayaarası, Eyüpspor's Mükremin Arda Türköz, Kasımpaşa's Ege Albayrak and Ali Emre Yanar, Fatih Karagümrük's Furkan Bekleviç and Kerem Yusuf Sirkeci, Samsunspor's Celil Yüksel, Trabzonspor's Boran Başkan and Salih Malkoçoğlu, Konyaspor's Adil Demirbağ and Alassane Ndao and Kayserispor's Berkan Aslan, Abdulsamet Burak.
Following his referral to the PFDK, Elmalı was removed from Türkiye's squad and replaced by Trabzonspor player Mustafa Eskihellaç. In addition to Elmalı's removal from the senior squad, İzzet Çelik was dropped from the under-21 team and Ege Albayrak from the under-19 squad.
Beşiktaş players Necip Uysal and goalkeeper Ersin Destanoğlu, denied the betting allegations and filed a criminal complaint on 11 November on the grounds that their identity information had been used. Destanoğlu stated, "Our federation shared our names without contacting us first, attempting to tarnish our reputations." Uysal also claimed that a betting account had been opened using his Turkish ID number. The charges against both players were dropped.
Elmalı admitted to betting on a game about five years ago that did not involve his own team.
On the programme "Kale Arkası" broadcast on TV100, journalist Haluk Yürekli claimed that Baltacı had placed 1,600 bets within the period when he was on loan at Eyüpspor. Baltacı admitted to betting 1,600 times on games that did not involve his own team.
On 13 November, PFDK imposed bans ranging from 45 days to 12 months on 102 footballers from the Süper Lig and the First League. Abdulsamet Burak from Kayserispor and Alassane Ndao from Konyaspor received the longest possible penalties of 12 months each, while Metehan Baltacı from Galatasaray and Yusuf Özdemir from Alanyaspor received 9-month bans; İzzet Çelik from Alanyaspor, Enes Keskin, Bedirhan Özyurt and Furkan Orak from Rizespor, Kerem Yusuf Sirkeci from Fatih Karagümrük, Berkan Aslan from Kayserispor and Boran Başkan from Trabzonspor received three-month bans, while the other 12 Süper Lig players received 45-day bans.