The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has provisionally suspended 448 current and former club officials for holding betting accounts and placing bets while working at clubs in Turkey’s top two divisions.
The list, published on Wednesday 30 September, includes Trabzonspor president Ertugrul Dogan and Besiktas vice-president Hakan Daltaban. About 171 of the officials worked at Süper Lig clubs. The rest come from the second tier.
According to the TFF, the bets were placed over the past five years while the individuals held administrative roles at clubs. All 448 cases have gone to the federation’s disciplinary committee, which will rule on final sanctions.
Club presidents on the list
Dogan is the most senior figure named. Speaking to broadcaster A Spor, he said the companies involved had sponsored clubs and held launch events, and that nobody expected this to cause problems. He did not name the companies.
“If we made a mistake, we apologise, but we have done nothing wrong,” Dogan said.
Reuters said it contacted Trabzonspor, Besiktas and both officials for comment. No response from either club or from Daltaban had been reported at the time of writing.
TFF rules bar players, referees and club officials from betting on football. The suspensions are provisional and stay in place while the disciplinary committee reviews each file.
Third wave of suspensions
Club officials are the third group caught in the federation’s betting investigation. The TFF suspended about 149 referees in late 2025 and then referred 1,024 players to the disciplinary committee, which handed out suspensions of varying length. The player phase is covered in our report on eight arrests as 1,024 players faced suspension.
Across the three phases, the federation has now acted against about 1,600 people: roughly 149 referees, 1,024 players and 448 club officials. Of the officials, around 277 worked in the second tier, more than the 171 from the Süper Lig.
Prosecutors ran a parallel criminal case. Several top-flight players and club officials were jailed during the earlier crackdown, and in November 2025 the prosecutor’s investigation extended to coaches, executives and commentators.
Last week the probe reached refereeing administration. On Tuesday 29 September, Turkish authorities detained the head and six members of the referee board over alleged interference in refereeing procedures, according to Reuters. That case is separate from the betting-account findings published a day later.
Turkey’s betting rules
Turkish law allows sports betting only through the state-licensed İddaa system, and wagers placed with offshore operators are illegal. The government has stepped up enforcement against unlicensed operators over the past year, as covered in our report on Turkey’s accelerated illegal gambling crackdown.
Published details of the list do not say which platforms the officials used, how much they staked, or whether any bets involved their own clubs’ matches. Dogan’s reference to sponsors suggests at least some officials used brands with commercial ties to clubs, but the TFF has not confirmed this.
The scale of the list is the main development. Earlier phases targeted the people on the pitch: referees who officiate matches and players who take part in them. This phase covers presidents, vice-presidents and other administrators who run clubs across two divisions.
What happens next
The disciplinary committee must now rule on 448 individual files. The TFF has not said what sanctions it will seek or when decisions are due. The player phase is the closest guide: there, the committee issued suspensions of different lengths rather than a single blanket penalty.
For Trabzonspor and Besiktas, the timing matters. Both clubs are in the middle of the Süper Lig season, and a confirmed ban on Dogan would remove Trabzonspor’s president from club football administration while the campaign runs.
The referee board detentions remain open. Prosecutors have not announced charges, and the federation has not said whether further lists covering other club staff will follow.
Source: Turkish Football Federation (TFF)
