Another crisis has hit Turkish football, this time at the heart of the structure that administers referees. According to Turkish media citing judicial sources, the president of the Central Refereeing Board, Ferhat Gundogdu, has been detained along with six other people on suspicion of pressure on referees and falsification of official documents.
The investigation was moved to Istanbul
The version published in Turkish media says the proceedings are being handled by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul, after the case was transferred from Antalya for lack of jurisdiction.
The investigation, according to the same reports, is based on statements by complainants and witnesses, expert reports, HTS data and records from the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, known as MASAK.
Who are the people involved
In addition to Gundogdu, the authorities’ checks have also involved Ferdi Karadoruk, president of the Istanbul branch of the Turkish Association of Active Football Referees and Observers, former MHK vice president Ahmet Sahin, member Sebahattin Sahin and former member Yunus Yildirim.
The case affects a chain of names with roles in the administration and evaluation of referees, making the matter more serious than an ordinary sporting conflict. If the allegations are proven, the suspicions go beyond individual mistakes and touch the very mechanism of referees’ appointments and careers.
Allegations in the case file
According to the investigation file reported by Turkish media, some referees were excluded from classification without an objective and reasoned decision. Others, according to the same allegations, were not assigned to matches or had their duties systematically reduced.
The same file also mentions privileged treatment for certain referees, interference in the points-based evaluation process, influence over appointments, as well as irregular changes to the lists of referees and observers for the years 2022 and 2024.
Official reaction and searches
Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek has reacted publicly to the case. According to his statement, in addition to the detentions, searches were also carried out at the homes, workplaces and offices of the suspects by order of the justice authorities.
At this stage, the authorities have made public the procedural measures and not a conclusion on guilt. However, the weight of the allegations and the level of the people involved make this another serious blow to the credibility of Turkish football.
The case once again raises serious questions about how referees are managed and how protected the system is from internal influence.
Beyond the official announcement of the detentions, what remains essential is whether the investigation will go as far as establishing real responsibility or will remain only at the level of yet another scandal.