At least 27 players from Super Lig clubs are suspected of betting on matches involving their teams.
Published December 5, 2025
Prosecutors in Turkiye have ordered the detention of 46 people, including 29 soccer players from top-flight clubs, club presidents and commentators, as part of an expanded investigation into insider gambling that is disrupting the country’s professional soccer league.
Istanbul prosecutors said in a statement on Friday that 27 of the arrested players were suspected of betting on matches involving their teams.
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One of them is Metehan Baltaci, who plays for current Turkish champions Galatasaray. Earlier this month, he was suspended for nine months over a gambling scandal.
The investigation has rocked Turkish football, and on November 10, six referees were taken into pretrial detention, along with the president of Turkiye’s Super Lig First Division club Eyupspor.
Prosecutors did not identify the other 26 players suspected of gambling involved with his team, but said Mert Hakan Yandas, who plays for Istanbul’s other major club Fenerbahce, gambled through other people’s accounts.
A Harbor News Channel reported that Murat Sančak, former chairman of Adana Demirspor, was also included in the detention list. Several other players are also listed.
No comment was received from any of the clubs mentioned.
Prosecutors announced that police have so far detained 35 of the 46 people named in arrest orders. Five people are currently known to be overseas.
According to a statement, two club presidents were subject to the order for “attempting to influence the outcome” of a match between two third-tier teams in the 2023-2024 season.
According to Turkish media reports, the match had attracted the attention of law enforcement authorities as neither side had a single goal attempt, and several newspapers reported that an investigation had begun.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has so far handed over 1,000 Turkish players, 25 of them from the Super Lig, suspensions ranging from 45 days to 12 months.
Konyaspor’s Senegalese winger Alassane N’Dao was the only foreigner to receive a 12-month suspension.
The majority, over 900, are from the 3rd and 4th Divisions.
In October, the TFF suspended nearly 150 referees for match betting, all of whom have since been sacked.
