Turkey: investigation, arrests and mass suspension of judges

Turkey has uncovered the large-scale involvement of referees in sports betting. The five-year investigation ended with a harsh reaction from the Turkish Football Federation.

What happened

• Twenty-one arrest warrants were issued, 17 to judges
• Eighteen people have been detained, including the chairman of the Super League club, a former club owner and an ex-president of the association
• Of the 571 audited, 371 have BC accounts

Details of the investigation

• 152 people regularly bet on sports
• Among them: 7 referees, 15 assistant referees, 36 reserve referees, 94 assistant referees
• 42 defendants were betting on a thousand+ matches
• Absolute maximum - 18,277 bids from one participant

Sanctions

• 149 judges have been suspended
• Timeline - 8-12 months

Context: it's not just Turkey

MLB is being investigated in the US: players are suspected of influencing match outcomes. The profit of the scheme is $460,000 and the prison term is up to 20 years. Umpires, athletes and staff are drawn into the schemes. Cases multiply and go beyond the individual leagues.

International trend

• UEFA, FIFA and IOC step up monitoring due to spike in suspicious episodes
• Most signals come from the lower leagues and regional divisions (easier to hide interference)
• Growing availability of online betting increases attempts to influence from within«

Conclusions

• The problem becomes transnational, not point problem
• Risks come from within - from people with access to the process
• If referees or players bet themselves, the odds lose objectivity: the model counts one thing, but the match no longer does
• It is important for operators to spot anomalies more quickly and step up inspections