27.10.2025 15:30
Former referee Ahmet Çakar brought up the VAR decision in the Galatasaray–Göztepe match following TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu's statement that "152 referees are actively betting." Çakar highlighted that the referee was called to the monitor in violation of the VAR protocol, and raised the question, "Is there anyone who bet that 'the referee will be called to VAR' for this match? Is there a referee among those who are betting?"
A betting scandal has erupted in Turkish football refereeing. The President of the Turkish Football Federation, İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, made statements that will shake the football agenda. Hacıosmanoğlu announced in a press conference that referees have been involved in the betting scandal.
"152 REFEREES ARE ACTIVELY BETTING"
In his statement, Hacıosmanoğlu said, "The Great Leader Atatürk said, 'I love the intelligent, agile, and ethical athlete,' but there is no sentence that implies those who fall outside of this may be unethical. We must be ethical with all elements. For months, we have been working with state institutions, and those who have been managing our clubs for years, the veterans of sports have sequentially told us the reasons that have led to the corruption of Turkish football. There is a proverb that says, 'When the gun is drawn, chivalry is lost.' We have discussed for years the extent of corruption and immorality in Turkish football after betting has emerged. As the TFF, we started from our own garden. I will provide some data for the need for real change in Turkish football, for ethics and order. Among the 571 active referees in professional leagues, 371 have betting accounts. 152 of them are actively betting," he said.
SHOCKING WORDS FROM AHMET ÇAKAR
Following this statement, former referee and football commentator Ahmet Çakar made a striking remark. Referring to the match played yesterday between Galatasaray and Göztepe, Çakar said, "In the Galatasaray-Göztepe match played yesterday, the assistant referee may have mistakenly called offside on the ball hit by the defender. When the position became a goal, VAR reviewed it. In such positions with concrete data (the defender clearly playing the ball), VAR does not call the referee to the monitor. It makes the necessary explanation through the earpiece, and the decision is corrected. But what happened in the evening? Contrary to VAR protocol, the referee was invited to watch. Now, the question that comes to mind after the statement of TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu is...? Is there anyone who bet that 'the referee will be called to VAR' for this match? Is there a referee among those who are betting?" he posed.
Here is Ahmet Çakar's post;