A Turkish court has jailed 20 suspects, including Super Lig players, pending trial in a betting investigation that Turkey's top football official said on Tuesday may widen as more data is collected.
Last week, prosecutors ordered the detention of 46 people, including players, club presidents, commentators and a referee, over insider betting in Turkey's professional leagues.
State-run Anadolu news agency said on Tuesday that among those detained last week, Galatasaray player Metehan Baltaci and Fenerbahce player Mert Hakan Yandas, as well as former Adana Demirspor president Murat Sancak, were now formally arrested.
The scale of the current investigation is comparable with previous probes into match gambling and match fixing in past decades in China, South Korea, Italy and other European countries.
'CRIMES COVERED UP'
"For years, the problems of Turkish football have been swept under the carpet," Turkish Football Federation Chairman Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu told a press conference.
"Such disgraceful decisions have been made, such crimes covered up, and the sole responsibility for our current situation is a lack of will."
He indicated that the federation’s investigation could widen once it has received data from Turkey’s state-run sports betting organisation Spor Toto regarding match observers, coaches, managers and others involved in football.
"The data hasn't yet arrived. We want the public to know that we will take appropriate action when it does," he said.
At a hearing on Monday, Baltaci told the court that he had placed bets on a few matches when he was a youth team player and had not done so after he joined the Galatasaray first team, according to Anadolu news agency.
🚨 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗟: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗦 𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝟰𝟲 𝗣𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗙𝗜𝗫𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗧𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗞𝗘𝗬.
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) December 5, 2025
🤯⚖️
👉 27 of the 29 targeted… pic.twitter.com/w0y6alaKSZ
Fenerbahce’s Yandas was cited by Sabah newspaper as saying in his court testimony that he denied involvement in gambling on matches.
Sancak told the court he did not have a gambling account and had never placed a bet on matches, Cumhuriyet newspaper said.
Representatives of the two players and the former club official could not immediately be reached for comment.
🚨🇹🇷⚽️
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) December 5, 2025
Istanbul prosecutors issued 46 arrest warrants (27 players) in a massive illegal betting probe shaking Turkish football.
So far:
⚠️ 1 000+ players suspended
⚠️ 150 referees dismissed
⚠️ 2 club presidents implicated
This scandal just keeps growing. pic.twitter.com/bc3W4gSNjc
Last month, Turkey's football federation suspended 149 referees and assistants after an investigation found that officials in the professional leagues were betting on games.
The net then widened with the arrest of eight people, including the chairman of a top-tier club, and the suspension of 1 024 players from all leagues, on whom the federation (TFF) imposed bans.
A trial date has not yet been set.