Idman.biz
The investigation into betting operations in Turkish football is back on the agenda.
İdman.Biz reports that the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is expanding the investigation, and Chief Prosecutor Akın Gürlek has not ruled out the possibility of a new operation in the coming days.
"The investigation conducted by the TFF and us are different. There is no situation where a legal investigation is automatically opened regarding the footballers penalized by the PFDK. We investigate every application made to us. We currently have a large database: the federation sends us notifications, many applications come through complaint lines, there are witness statements. We have cooperation with UEFA and Interpol – they will also send us a list. Therefore, there may be a new operation in the near future," said the chief prosecutor.
The internal investigation conducted by the Turkish Football Federation revealed that 371 of the 571 active professional referees had betting accounts, and 152 of them were actively betting. The referees determined to have bet were sent to the PFDK (Professional Football Disciplinary Board), and 149 referees and assistant referees were banned from activities for 8-12 months.
The TFF later expanded the investigation and sent 1024 footballers to the PFDK. 102 of them were penalized with a penalty ranging from 45 days to 12 months.
In the first stage of the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, search, confiscation and control measures were applied to 21 people, most of whom were referees. 8 people, including the president of "Eyüpspor", were arrested.
