The president of Turkey’s refereeing body has been arrested as authorities investigate alleged corruption involving referee rankings, appointments and assessment procedures.
Ferhat Gundogdu was detained alongside the organisation’s vice-president and five other people as part of the investigation. Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said the case is examining possible interference in referee classifications, match assignments, scoring systems, appointment processes and rules examinations.
Police also carried out searches at homes, workplaces and offices linked to the inquiry.
The investigation has extended to the Turkish Football Federation, with officers inspecting the VAR room at the TFF headquarters in Istanbul on Tuesday.
The federation rejected reports that digital material had been deleted before the inspection and later recovered by police. It said it was fully cooperating with the authorities and planned to pursue criminal complaints over what it described as inaccurate media reports and social media claims.
The latest case comes amid wider scrutiny of integrity issues in Turkish football, although authorities have not established a connection with previous betting investigations.
In November 2025, the TFF suspended 149 referees and assistant referees after an internal investigation discovered that hundreds of professional match officials held betting accounts. Twenty-nine people were arrested during that case, including 14 footballers.
Gurlek has not linked that investigation to the current corruption inquiry involving the refereeing body.
Separately, the TFF has provisionally suspended 448 people and referred them to its Professional Football Disciplinary Board as part of another betting investigation.
According to the federation, those under investigation had held positions at clubs in Turkey’s top two divisions during the previous five years and were found to have placed bets while serving in those roles.
The disciplinary list includes officials connected with every Super Lig club except Kasimpasa. Among those named are Trabzonspor president Ertugrul Dogan and Besiktas vice-president Hakan Daltaban.
Dogan told Turkish broadcaster A Spor that he had previously held a betting account but later closed it and had informed the relevant authorities. He said betting companies had previously sponsored football clubs and organised promotional events, meaning officials had not considered such accounts problematic at the time.
He maintained that he had committed no wrongdoing while acknowledging that the TFF had taken a different interpretation of the rules.
Overall, 171 people associated with Turkish top-flight clubs have been referred to the disciplinary board as the federation continues its wider examination of betting activity and football governance.