Turkish prosecutors are ramping up their probe into football integrity in the country, which could be one of its biggest crises ever, after 32 people were detained in a match-fixing and illegal betting investigation.
Police orders from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office carried out simultaneous raids in 10 different provinces, targeting a total of 33 individuals. One person assumes a suspect is still on the run. A cyber forensic investigation of betting accounts and financial transactions revealed club executives at the highest level placing bets on matches which involved their teams, besides placing bets on competitors, the authorities claim.
Betting on matches that one can control is a criminal offenseunder Turkey’s Law No. 6222 on the Prevention of Violence and Disorder in Sports. Prosecutors have suspected the issue to be an organized and if they can prove that, the penalties will be severe.
The scandal was first made public in October 2025 after a Turkish Football Federation-initiated internal audit. The investigation discovered thousands of referees with betting accounts, which led to suspensions and the initiation of a crackdown.
It has been running investigations not just on players, referees, and club officials but also across various divisions since then. The financial detective teams have been following the trail of suspect illegal betting money through club-related accounts, and some of the properties have been confiscated.
The investigation is continuing nationwide, and the authorities are now targeting the involvement of the executives at the top level.
