The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has announced that it will take action against referees found to be betting on matches, after more than 370 of them were found to have accounts used for betting.
TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said on Monday that an investigation based on information provided by government agencies found that 371 of the 571 referees in Turkey’s professional football league had accounts used to bet on matches, with 152 betting regularly.
“As a federation, we have started cleaning up our own backyard. Among those found to have betting accounts are seven senior referees, 15 top-flight referees, 36 other midfield referees and 94 other sideline referees,” he said.
He added that there are referees who officiate a lot, with one of them officiating 18,227 times, and 42 referees officiating more than 1,000 matches each. Others were found to have officiated only once.
Hacıosmanoğlu said the incidents occurred within the five-year period stipulated by the Turkish Sports Law.
Article 57 of the TFF Code of Conduct states that if a referee is found guilty of betting on football matches, he or she will be suspended from three months to one year, whether from officiating or from football-related activities.
