The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has referred 152 football referees to the Professional Football Disciplinary Committee (PFDK) on suspicion of betting. The list includes well-known names among top league referees - Zorbay Küçük, Egemen Artun, Mehmet Ali Özer, Melih Kurt, Muhammed Selim Özbek, Seyfettin Alper Yılmaz, and Yunus Dursun.
According to a statement from the TFF Legal Department reported by Milli.Az, a total of 152 individuals, including 7 top league referees and 15 top league assistant referees, have been referred to the PFDK for disciplinary violation due to "engaging in betting activities."
The following top league referees, including FIFA-licensed referee Zorbay Küçük, are on the list:
Egemen Artun, Mehmet Ali Özer, Melih Kurt, Muhammed Selim Özbek, Seyfettin Alper Yılmaz, Yunus Dursun, Zorbay Küçük.
Top league assistant referees
The names of the 15 top league assistant referees accused of betting are:
Ahmet Türkeş, Azem Zorlu, Baykal Tuna, Eren Öksüzler, Eyup Özer, Faruk Yağlı, Göktuğ Hazar Erel, Hasan Erdoğan, Mehmet Akıncık, Mehmet Sıraç Akpınar, Rıdvan Çevik, Rüştü Muhammed Orcan, Selami Dursun, Serdar Soydan, Şenol Bektaş.
Classification (professional league) referees
According to the list disclosed by the TFF, dozens of classification referees, including those from lower leagues, have been referred to the PFDK. Names among them include Abdullah Murat Yoldaş, Abdulsamet Şenoğlu, Ali Bilen, Bedirhan Efeakdoğan, Burak Doğru, Göktan Demeli, Hakan Yurtseven, Mehmet Can Koç, Mertcan Erölmez, Muammer Sarıdağ, Nevzat Okat, Süleyman Soyutürk, Umut Yalçınkaya, Yunus Emre Çiftçi.
Classification assistant referees
Additionally, nearly 100 assistant referees are included on the list. Among them are Abdullah Yalçınkaya, Ahmet Kıvanç Kader, Arif Taşkın, Aykut Yılmaz, Batuhan Topçu, Buğra Doğhan, Cem Harman, Cihad Buyurgan, Emre Kaya, Fatih Yüzbaşı, Furkan Yıldız, Hakan Tunç, Hüseyin Sağlık, Mehmet Ali Yılmaz, Mustafa Sert, Onur Akıncı, Recep Güneş, Sadık Eren Ulusoy, Ulaş Kaçmaz, Yasin Emre Ceylan.
The disciplinary decision by the TFF was made following internal investigations conducted in recent months regarding referees’ participation in sports betting games. The federation leadership has described this issue as a "serious disciplinary violation damaging the trust of Turkish football."
The PFDK is currently conducting individual investigations for each referee. If substantial evidence is found, the revocation of these individuals’ referee licenses may come into consideration.
