Istanbul, Tรผrkiye – A massiveโ scandal has rocked Turkish football, with the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspending 149 referees and assistant referees after discovering they held active football betting accounts.โ Theโ sweeping action, the result โฃof โa five-year investigation, raises serious questions about the integrity of matches โฃand appears to validate prior complaints โขmade by prominent coach Jose Mourinho.
The TFF’sโฃ investigation revealedโ that of the 571 match officials examined, 371 had betting accounts, withโ 152 actively placing wagers. The extent of theโ betting variedโ widely, from single betsโค to one official placing an astonishing 18,227 bets, โขand 42 referees betting on over 1,000 matches. Those suspended face a one-year ban from officiating, while investigations continue into โคthreeโ additional referees.
“There is aโฃ moralโ crisis inโ Turkish โfootball, theโ basic โproblem is an ethical one,” stated โขTFF president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu.He furtherโข emphasized the federation’s commitment to โขits officials, stating, “Just ask any referee, if anyone has notโฃ received thier salary, I willโ resign as president of the federation.Inโฃ fact, we โhaveโ increased theirโค salariesโ last โฃyear โand thisโ year too.”
The revelations strongly echo concerns voiced by Jose Mourinho during his brief tenure asโฃ coach of fenerbahรงe โฃfrom July 2024 to August 2025. Mourinho repeatedly criticized refereeing decisions and alleged systemic bias against his team.โ “we are notโค competing against the opposing team,weโค are fighting the system. And fighting the system is the hardest thing,” he said in early 2025.
priorโฃ to taking the Fenerbahรงe position, Mourinho โขexpressed skepticism about rumorsโฃ of corruption within Turkish football. However, he โlater lamented being โขmisled about the extent of the problem. “Before coming to Turkey, I heard some gossip, but to be honest I didn’t believe it. However,afterโข actually coming here,the situation was much more serious than I heard,” he stated. “I have a complaint about the people at fenerbahce who brought me here. They told half the truth and โคhid โthe rest. Ifโ I โขknew everything, I wouldn’t have come.” โMourinho is currentlyโ coaching Benfica.
