A Turkish court has jailed eight suspects, including Eyüpspor President Murat Özkaya and several referees, in a criminal case concerning referees betting on football matches and match-fixing allegations.
The case is led by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which said the probe concerns “abuse of office” by referees, who are treated as public officials under Turkish law, and “influencing the outcome of a match” under Law No. 6222 that criminalizes match fixing.
Police detained suspects after coordinated raids in 12 provinces, and prosecutors sent 19 people to appear before a court in İstanbul.
The court released 11 suspects under judicial supervision, which requires regular reporting to a police station, and ordered eight to jail pending trial.
Eyüpspor is an İstanbul club that recently joined the Turkish Süper Lig, the country’s top division.
Prosecutors began the case in April and expanded it after Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said on October 27 that 371 of 571 active referees had betting accounts and that 152 had placed bets on matches.
The TFF later suspended 149 referees and assistants for eight to 12 months in its own disciplinary process that is separate from the court case.
The prosecutor listed the crimes as “abuse of office” for referees who bet and “influencing the outcome of a match” for those suspected of actions that could affect results.
Among those previously named in warrants were referees from several league levels, Eyüpspor’s club president and business figures linked to Kasımpaşa, another İstanbul club in the top division.
The court decisions came after questioning about the number and size of bets, the incomes of the suspects and any links between betting histories and the matches they worked.
The federation chief said one referee placed more than 18,000 bets over five years and that dozens placed over 1,000 bets, which raised concerns about match integrity.