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Turkish season postponed amid match-fixing probe
The postponement came just a few hours after Turkish federation president Mehmet Aydınlar met the prosecutor in charge of the investigation about the alleged fixing of 19 games.
Aydınlar said the Super League would now start Sept. 9 with the Bank Asya league beginning the next day. The season had been due to start in early August.
The scandal has shaken Turkish football. Along with Fenerbahçe president Aziz Yıldırım, officials from İstanbul club Beşiktaş have also been arrested, pending trial. Executives of Black Sea team Trabzonspor have also been interrogated during the ongoing investigation.
Fenerbahçe won 16 of 17 league matches in the latter part of last season to come from a distant third place and claim a record 18th title, beating Trabzonspor on goal difference.
Angry Fenerbahçe fans took to the streets in violent protests against the detention of club officials with the team at risk of losing its title.
The decision to postpone the start of the league came despite warnings by Fenerbahçe that such a decision would further harm the club, which has already lost millions of dollars after its shares plunged in the stock market.
Media reports have said the Turkish Cup final between Beşiktaş and İBB (İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor) is one of 19 games highlighted in the police investigation.
Beşiktaş won the final 4-3 on penalties to win a place in next season's Europa League.
Another match under scrutiny, according to reports, was Fenerbahçe's 4-3 victory over Sivasspor which clinched the title on the final day of the season to secure a place in the lucrative Champions League.
Turkish authorities, meanwhile, are also looking into the suspicious movement of Fenerbahçe shares and those of other clubs on the İstanbul stock market last season.
Last Thursday, hundreds of angry Fenerbahçe fans invaded the field at Şükrü Saraçoğlu stadium in the second half of a friendly against Ukrainian champion Shakhtar Donetsk, forcing the abandonment of the game.
Fenerbahçe fans - some wearing masks and T-shirts bearing the picture of Yıldırım - also attacked media representatives for what they regard as critical media coverage of the fixing probe.
The federation described the incidents as "unacceptable," leading to speculation in the media on Monday that it could decide against allowing a match between Turkey and Germany on Oct. 7 to be played at the same stadium. The federation, however, said there has been "no decision on where the match would be played."
The federation so far has refrained from taking any disciplinary measures against Fenerbahçe or Trabzonspor, allowing them to compete in the Champions League.
Turkey is the latest country to be affected by a slew of match-fixing and betting scandals around the globe, from South Korea to Zimbabwe.
TFF said in a separate statement on Monday that it plans to meet all chairmen of clubs in Spor Toto Super League and Bank Asya 1st League on Tuesday.
Following the TFF’s decision to postpone the league, Fenerbahçe released a statement on its website, saying the club is “closely monitoring TFF’s works.”
The club said it respects TFF’s decision for what it said the “healthy process” of the investigation into the match-fixing allegations.
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