Inside The Biggest Betting Scandal In Football History

Inside The Biggest Betting Scandal In Football History

Just last month the world of football saw one of the biggest betting scandals the sport has ever seen with Turkish Football Federation President, Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu announcing that hundreds of the nations referees were linked to betting accounts.

In the past few days however the Turkish Authorities have began to implicate players who were also tied to the scandal, actively betting during their time playing.

This has included players from some of the Turkish Giants such as Besiktas and Galatasaray with mass suspensions underway across the league, this will be delved into more detail later.

Initial Referee Scandal:

On October 27, the initial scandal hit worldwide headlines after Haciosmanoglu announced that hundreds of active referees had betting accounts following a probe into the subject.

This has caused waves in Turkish football with promises of huge upheavals for the Turkish footballing system and its officials.

According to the TFF President, the group implicated involved 7 referees and 15 assistant referees from the Super Lig and TFF 2. Lig, Türkiye's top two divisions, with an additional 36 referees and 96 assistant referees from the TFF 3. Lig.

As of now the 36 referees implicated from the Turkish 3rd league are 'classified' with more information likely to be released as Turkish authorities and TFF investigations continue and develop.

Turkish football has been rocked by a massive betting scandal: A probe revealed that 371 of 571 active referees had betting accounts, and 152 of them were actively gambling 😳 pic.twitter.com/dYBEGX3wJL

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 27, 2025

The Players Involved:

Recent developments have moved onto the active players that have had alleged involvement in the betting scandal.

Across Turkish professional football 1,024 players have been referred to the Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK) after being found to be betting within the scope of the betting investigation.

The TFF have stated that this is purely a precautionary measure as of 10/11/2025 and are acting in accordance with Article 57 of the Football Disciplinary Instructions.

In the released list of all players referred to the PFDK, 27 play in the top flight, this includes players at Besiktas and Galatasaray who both have had 2 active players referred each.

Besiktas have issued a statement discussing two of their players being referred to the PFDK but have maintained they have 'full faith' that the pair are innocent.

Reigning champions Galatasaray have also had 2 players referred stating they will meticulously follow the process.

Together as one! ✊ pic.twitter.com/9nt4WhWNud

— The Black Eagles (@BesiktasEnglish) November 8, 2025

What Happens Now?

The exact next steps of all involved are not entirely clear and have a large dependence on the ongoing investigation and its findings.

BBC Turkish has confirmed that Super Lig side Eyupspor chairman, Murat Ozkaya, has been arrested by authorities.

Kaveh Solhekol looks at the case which has stunned Turkish football, where disciplinary action has been launched due to 152 referees actively gambling on football 🇹🇷⚽️ pic.twitter.com/bTjhVgoBvV

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 27, 2025

In relation to the leagues however the TFF has begun to take key moves to help manage the impact that the investigation will have.

For starters they have pushed back the matches of the third and fourth division by two weeks. Current plans are that the top two flights are allowed to continue as normal.

The TFF have also enquired to FIFA requesting an additional 15 days on top of the winter transfer window to assist clubs who will now be facing huge squad shortages.

This is a case that will have huge ramifications on both Turkish football and most likely global football. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation it cannot be said exactly what will happen yet and predictions would be unwise seeing as this is such a major scandal and so much is currently unknown.

More will follow this story as updates are provided by the relevant authorities.