On Friday, the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office announced the issuance of arrest warrants for 46 individuals, including 29 football players, linked to a widespread probe into illegal betting on Turkish football matches.
According to the prosecutor’s statement, 27 of these players are accused of betting on games featuring their own teams.
One of the arrested is Metehan Baltaci from Galatasaray, the current Turkish champions. He was suspended for nine months earlier this month due to the betting controversy.
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This investigation has caused significant upheaval in Turkish football. Earlier in the month, six referees and the president of Eyupspor, a top division club in Turkey’s Super Lig, were also detained pending trial.
While the prosecutor’s office hasn’t disclosed the names of the other 26 players involved in betting on their own teams, it confirmed that Mert Hakan Yandas from Fenerbahce, another prominent Istanbul club, made bets using another person’s account.
The police have so far detained 35 out of the 46 individuals listed in the arrest warrant.
The order also targets two club presidents accused of “attempting to manipulate the result” of a match between their third-division teams during the 2023-2024 season, the statement added.
The Turkish football federation (TFF) has suspended over 1,000 players and nearly 150 referees amid the scandal.
Of these, 25 players were part of the Super Lig, facing suspensions ranging from 45 days to 12 months, the TFF reported.
Among the players, only one is a foreign national — Alassane Ndao from Konyaspor, who received a 12-month suspension.
