17.07.2026 09:30
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced that a new betting operation has been carried out. Within the scope of the investigation coordinated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, 17 of the 19 suspects, including club managers working in professional leagues, were detained.
Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek announced that 19 suspects were detained in operations centered in Istanbul within the scope of an illegal betting investigation.
In a statement on his social media account, Minister Gürlek stated that the fight against illegal betting, violence in sports, match-fixing, and proceeds of crime is being carried out decisively.
Emphasizing that they have adopted as a fundamental principle that football should be associated with justice, effort, and hard work, and that the struggle on the field should not be overshadowed by any impropriety, Gürlek noted that significant findings have been reached in the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's Illegal Betting and Sports Crimes Investigation Bureau within this framework.
BETTING ACTIVITIES OF CLUB EXECUTIVES UNDER SCRUTINY
Providing details about the investigation, Minister Gürlek stated the following:
"Betting platform data from 2020-2026 and MASAK analyses were evaluated together; significant findings were obtained regarding the betting activities of some club executives working in professional leagues affiliated with the Turkish Football Federation; simultaneous operations centered in Istanbul were carried out today against 19 suspects."
Gürlek thanked the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for conducting the comprehensive investigation with sensitivity, the Istanbul Provincial Police Department for carrying out the operations, and all public officials who contributed.
"SUSPICIOUS STRUCTURES AND RELATIONSHIPS WILL BE DECISIVELY ADDRESSED"
Stating that the judicial process will continue to ensure clean football and protect the reliability of sports, Gürlek stated, "Judicial processes are being meticulously carried out to shed light on incidents that wound the conscience of our nation. Any suspicious structure, relationship, and action that damages the spirit of sports and casts a shadow on the reliability of football will be decisively addressed."