Turkiye orders arrest of top-tier footballers, officials in gambling probe

At least 27 Super Lig club players are suspected of having bet on matches involving their own teams.Published On 5 Dec 2025Prosecutors in Turkiye have ordered the detention of 46 people, including 29 footballers from top-tier clubs, club presidents, commentators and others, as part of a widening investigation into insider betting that has roiled the country’s professional football leagues.Among the arrested players, 27 were suspected of having bet on matches involving their own teams, the public prosecutor’s office in Istanbul said in a statement on Friday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Is global sports betting out of control?list 2 of 3All you need to know about FIFA World Cup 2026list 3 of 3More than 70 athletes call on UEFA to ban Israel over rights abusesend of listOne was Metehan Baltaci, who plays for reigning Turkish champions Galatasaray, it said. Earlier this month, he had been suspended for nine months over the betting scandal.The investigation has rocked Turkish football, with six referees placed in pre-trial detention on November 10, along with the president of Eyupspor, a club in Turkiye’s top Super Lig division.Prosecutors did not identify the other 26 players suspected of bets involving their own teams, but said Mert Hakan Yandas, who plays for Fenerbahce, another major Istanbul club, had placed bets through someone else’s account.The A Haber news channel reported that the former president of Adana Demirspor, Murat Sancak, was also included in the detention list. It also listed several other players.None of the clubs mentioned could immediately be reached for comment.The prosecutor’s office said police had so far detained 35 of the 46 people named in the arrest order. Five were known to be currently abroad, it said.Two club presidents were among those targeted by the order for “attempting to influence the outcome” of a match between their two third-division teams in the 2023-2024 season, the statement said.