The head of Turkey’s refereeing body is among seven people arrested as part of a police investigation into corruption, Turkish justice minister Akin Gurlek has said.
Ferhat Gundogdu, president of the referees’ committee, was detained along with his vice-president and five other people. Police also carried out searches of homes, workplaces and offices as part of the inquiry.
Gurlek set out the scope of the case, saying it centres on “claims regarding interference in the formation of referee classifications, assignments, scoring and appointment processes, as well as rule examinations”. The detentions relate to an investigation into alleged mobbing and document forgery.
The justice minister framed the arrests as part of a wider effort to protect the credibility of the Turkish game. “We will resolutely continue our fight for clean football so that allegations damaging trust in Turkish football are brought to light, those responsible are held accountable before the law, and football is associated with the effort, competition and sportsmanship on the pitch,” he said.
The arrests land in a period of heightened scrutiny for Turkish officiating. In November 2025, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees and assistant referees after an investigation found that hundreds of professional match officials in the country held betting accounts. Around 29 people were arrested in that scandal, among them 14 footballers. Gurlek, however, did not make any link between that betting case and the current investigation.