Turkish Justice Minister calls for 'clean' football

Istanbul – AFP: Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurler stated that football in his country “needs to be clean,” following the recent eruption of a new, wide-ranging scandal involving the buying of match results and violations within national refereeing bodies.

As a result, Central Referees Committee Chairman Ferhat Gundogdu and four other individuals were placed in pre-trial detention on charges including “forging official documents,” “abuse of trust,” and “unlawful acquisition of personal data.” Two referees were also held in pre-trial detention on charges of “match-fixing and corruption” and “forging official documents,” bringing the total number of detainees to seven.

In an interview with the Anadolu news agency, Gurler said, “Turkish football must be completely fair. I am following this file closely.” He added, “We want referees to manage matches without owing favors to anyone, while respecting the rules. But unfortunately, the investigations we are conducting show that this is not the case.”

Turkish Football Federation President Ibrahim Hacioglu denied any involvement in the scandal, refusing to “bear responsibility for 30 years of corruption in Turkish football.”

Investigators are working on allegations concerning interference in the preparation of referee rankings, match assignments, and evaluation and appointment processes. They are also examining knowledge tests on the laws of the game, which are suspected to have been leaked in advance to some referees.