Several Turkish Super Lig footballers sent to prison over match-fixing scandal
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
The court has ruled on suspects involved in illegal betting within professional football.
Details: A Turkish court has sent 20 suspects to jail, including Metehan Baltacı from Galatasaray, Mert Hakan Yandaş from Fenerbahçe, and former Adana Demirspor president Murat Sancak. The arrests are connected to an investigation into internal betting in the country's top divisions.
A week earlier, prosecutors issued warrants for the detention of 46 individuals – including footballers, club presidents, sports commentators, and a referee. Baltacı admitted to betting as a youth player but denied involvement after joining the first team. Yandaş completely denied the accusations, while Sancak stated he had never operated any betting accounts.
The scandal widened last month when the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees and assistants. The investigation revealed that match officials had placed bets on games in which they were involved. Later, eight more people were detained, including a Super Lig club president, and a total of 1,024 players at all levels were suspended.
Reminder: Fenerbahçe could sign Roma forward Artem Dovbyk.
