Football body clears clubs in fixing case

DHA Photo

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) yesterday cleared all 16 Turkish clubs, including Fenerbahçe, of involvement in an alleged match-fixing scandal, but it has banned players and club officials for manipulating and attempting to manipulate games.

Gaziantepspor midfielder İbrahim Akın, who was with Istanbul BB when accused, was banned for three years for manipulating a Fenerbahçe-Istanbul BB match, while former Gençlerbirliği goalkeeper Serdar Kulbilge was given a two-year ban for attempting to manipulate a Gençlerbirliği-Fenerbahçe match in last season’s Spor Toto Super League.

Two officials from defending champion Fenerbahçe, which was at the center of the allegations, were also banned. Fenerbahçe board member İlhan Ekşioğlu was given a three-year ban for attempting to manipulate the Eskişehirspor-Trabzonspor and Gençlerbirliği-Fenerbahçe games, and Vice Chairman Şekip Mosturoğlu and club official Cemil Turan were each given one-year bans.

No ban for Aziz Yıldırım

Ekşioğlu is still in jail pending charges, while Mosturoğlu and Turan spent seven months in jail before being released. The highest-profile suspect in the case, Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yıldırım, was not found guilty of match-fixing despite still being held in the Metris Prison on match-fixing charges. Yıldırım denied the charges against him and said the case was designed specifically to undermine the 18-time domestic champion club.

Former Eskişehirspor player Ümite Karan was given a two-year ban, while Gençlerbirliği staff members Cengiz Demirel and Mehmet Şen and player agent Yavuz Ağırgöl were also given one-year bans.

The outcome of the TFF’s investigation will be closely analyzed by European football’s ruling body, UEFA, amid previous expectations that clubs found to have been involved in match-fixing could face relegation or exclusion from European competitions. Ahead of the disciplinary board’s decision, the federation had softened the punishment for match-fixing, ruling that clubs caught unsuccessfully trying to fix matches would only face point deductions rather than relegation.

The scandal erupted last July, when police carried out raids against those accused of involvement in rigging 13 matches, including Fenerbahce’s 4-3 victory over Sivasspor that clinched them the league championship on the final day of last season. The indictment named eight clubs, including Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor. The TFF launched its own investigation, and 22 separate Super League games were referred to the disciplinary committee.

Additional reports from AFP and Reuters were used in this story. (Hürriyet)

Controversial ruling rocks Turkish football

Turkish Football Federation Chairman Yıldırım Demirören (pictured) announces that 16 of the 18 Spor Toto Super League clubs that played in last year’s competition will attend match-fixing hearings at the Professional Football Disciplinary Committee (PFDK). AA photo

The top football body’s controversial ruling on the match-fixing allegations stirs a deep division as one of the top clubs call for a resignation.

Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Chairman Yıldırım Demirören said yesterday that 16 Turkish top-flight clubs, including the nation’s “big four,” would be probed by the national football’s governing body’s disciplinary committee regarding the match-fixing allegations.

Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor are among the 16 clubs involved in the 22 Spor Toto Super League matches that were allegedly manipulated.

Demirören’s announcement came after the Executive Board held three days of discussions on the Ethics Committee report, which was prepared by a five-person expert board working on the collected evidence.

“Our Executive Board has evaluated the report and decided to probe all clubs involved in the 22 games in front of the Professional Football Disciplinary Committee [PFDK],” Demirören said. “I have to say most clubs are not even touched by the match-fixing allegations, but they will face hearings in order to give them a chance for a judicial acquittal.”

This is the first concrete step by the TFF in dealing with the match-fixing case, which became public after the first wave of arrests on July 3, 2011. A total of 93 club officials, coaches and players were listed as suspects according to the indictment prepared by Istanbul prosecutor Mehmet Berk. There are currently 10 officials - including Fenerbahçe chairman Aziz Yıldırım, the highest-profile name in the case - jailed pending trial.

However, the TFF made a last-minute change to the 58th article of the Disciplinary Code yesterday, which will dramatically change the match-fixing case.

According to the change, any team found guilty of attempting to manipulate matches will not be punished with a relegation ban, as before, but with a points deduction and a financial penalty.
Yesterday, Demirören hinted that the PFDK would rule that there had been attempts at match-fixing, but that they had not had a major effect. “According to the Ethics Committee report, football’s basic values were not harmed and traces of [match-fixing] were not reflected on the pitch, which is a point that makes us happy,” he said.

Last season’s Spor Toto Super League champion Fenerbahçe, league runner-up Trabzonspor and Ziraat Turkish Cup winner Beşiktaş were the three top clubs that were listed in the indictment, but the inclusion of Galatasaray was a surprising move from the TFF. It was announced that Galatasaray would be attending the hearing as “complainant.”

Sixteen of the 18 teams that competed in last year’s championship will attend the hearing, with only Antalyaspor and Gaziantepspor being left outside.

Last week, Fenerbahçe withdrew an appeal against the TFF and UEFA at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking 45 million Euros for its exclusion from the Champions League.

The club’s withdrawal fueled speculation that it was the result of a backroom deal with the TFF that would clear the club of charges, but Demirören dismissed the claims.

“There were no such talks. Fenerbahçe withdrew the appeal by the decision of its own board,” Demirören said. “As the TFF, we are a side in the case, so it is not possible for us to urge them to withdraw their case.”

Meanwhile, Youth and Sports Minister Suat Kılıç welcomed the TFF’s decision and said there had been no political intervention in it.

“These decisions are very important and are of major importance for the future of Turkish football,” Kılıç said in a statement. “There are no political aspects to their decisions … We are all in the same boat, and we share all these problems, so we all need to find the solutions together.” (hurriyetdailynews)

Ball is on Football Federation’s court to decide match-fixing case

Fenerbahçe Vice Chairman Nihat Özdemir (L) shakes hands with TFF chief Yıldırım Demirören. Fener boss Aziz Yıldırım (inset) is jailed pending trial as part of case. DHA photo

The Turkish Football Federation convenes in Antalya to decide on possible sanctions in the match-fixing scandal after receiving the crucial report from the Ethics Committee

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) is set to decide on possible sanctions in the ongoing match-fixing case, after the Ethics Committee presented its report on April 26. The TFF convened in the southern province of Antalya to decide on its roadmap after the Ethics Committee concluded its months-long preparations for the report. The extraordinary meeting may mean the TFF is to decide soon on whether to punish teams and individuals involved in the match-fixing case or not.

“The Committee has reached a conclusion as to whether match-fixing or attempted match-fixing took place, and for some games, there was not enough evidence to reach a conclusion,” a statement released by the Ethics Committee said.

A total of 93 club officials, players and coaches are listed as suspects in the match-fixing case, which started after Istanbul police found that at least a dozen games were allegedly manipulated last season. After the case became public on July 3, 2011, there were many speculations about possible sanctions on the teams allegedly involved in match-fixing, including Spor Toto Super League champion Fenerbahçe, runner-up Trabzonspor, Ziraat Turkish Cup winner Beşiktaş, cup finalist Istanbul BB and more, but the TFF did not make an immediate decision in the case.

The Ethics Committee announcement underlined that its report is not definitive, but will help to clarify the situation for the Disciplinary Committee of the TFF. The Turkish media published contrasting reports on the Ethics Committee’s report, which was not leaked in its entirety. Some newspapers claimed the report ruled there were no evidence on match-fixing. Daily Hürriyet, however, reported that the Ethics Committee ruled five matches were manipulated last season. According to the article, Fenerbahçe’s matches against Istanbul BB, Sivasspor and Ankaragücü were allegedly manipulated, while the club allegedly paid incentives to Eskişehirspor when playing against Trabzonspor. It was added that Trabzonspor also attempted to pay incentives to Sivasspor in the title-deciding game against Fenerbahçe.

The report was released on the day when Fenerbahçe withdrew its appeal against its exclusion from the Champions League, hinting there could be some backdoor negotiations regarding the match-fixing case. (ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News)