Turkey’s refereeing system has been thrown into fresh turmoil after Ferhat Gündogdu, the head of the country’s central referees committee, was remanded in custody alongside four other people in an investigation into alleged manipulation of officiating administration.
The move
Gündogdu, who chairs the Turkish Football Federation’s Central Refereeing Committee, appeared before a judge at Istanbul’s Caglayan courthouse on Friday with six other suspects. Five people, including Gündogdu, were placed in pre-trial detention.
The investigation concerns claims that the management of referees was improperly influenced. Allegations include forging official documents, breach of trust and unlawfully obtaining personal data.
Prosecutors are examining possible interference in several areas of the refereeing structure: the creation of referee rankings, match appointments, assessment procedures, promotions and the rule-knowledge examinations used for officials.
Police searches included the VAR control room at the Turkish Football Federation headquarters in Istanbul, underlining the scale of an inquiry that reaches beyond individual match officials.
A wider crisis for Turkish football
The case is the latest serious controversy to hit the Turkish game. A year ago, the federation suspended 149 referees over illegal betting allegations.
On Thursday evening, specialist police officers investigating illegal gambling and sports-related crime also detained Süper Lig referee Yasin Kol and an assistant referee.
Observers believe the present case may be connected to last year’s betting scandal, with the investigation potentially extending further into the federation itself.
