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Match-fixing probe grows with 11 more arrests
The suspects were sent to Metris Prison. Meanwhile, Kayserispor player Durmuş Bayram and Tepecikspor players Burhan Akgül and Umut Koçin were released after testifying to prosecutors. The suspected leader of the gang, former player Erkan Ergün, was expected to appear before the court yesterday.
Former international defender Fatih Akyel, part of the Turkey team that came third at the 2002 World Cup, was also arrested on Thursday and remanded in custody on charges of fraud and gang membership, his lawyer said. The Turkish Soccer Federation (TFF) confirmed that an investigation by İstanbul prosecutors was under way in a statement on Wednesday. “The ongoing investigation was initiated by a complaint submitted by the TFF to the Sarıyer prosecutor on Aug. 4, 2009. The complaint by the TFF came as a result of information and documents obtained in three different match-fixing dossiers,” the statement read. The TFF also noted that the case was not related to an investigation into a huge match-fixing ring exposed by prosecutors in the German city of Bochum last November.
Police last Wednesday detained 46 people in connection with the Turkish probe. They have since freed some of them, including Arif Erdem, a deputy trainer of top-division İstanbul Buyuksehir Belediyespor, and Taner Gülleri, a striker with the club.
The investigation has been carried out in 26 provinces, targeting 53 suspects, İstanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın said on Wednesday.
The Habertürk daily on Friday published a list of 59 games dating from 2007 to 2009, including 10 top league matches, it said were under investigation for manipulation. The TFF declined to comment.
Turkey is bidding to stage the UEFA European Championship in 2016, and Hakan Ünsal, who played with Akyel at the 2002 World Cup, said the arrests were a blow to the reputation of Turkish soccer.
“I’m very sorry that my former teammates are embroiled in such a situation. ... I’m sure the investigation will prove their innocence. This is a blow to the reputation of the soccer community,” he told broadcaster NTV.
In his testimony, Akyel rejected the accusations of match-fixing and said he was a victim of slander and that he was not connected to the people who are accused of involvement in match-fixing, NTV reported on Thursday.
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