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February 23, 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 

Court annuls ban on Trabzonspor chairman to travel abroad

Sadri Şener (photo: Cihan)
25 August 2011 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM,
A court has annuled a ban on Trabzonspor chairman Sadri Şener to travel abroad a day after the UEFA decided that the runner-up Turkish club will replace champion Fenerbahçe in the Champions League draw.

The court earlier banned Şener from traveling abroad as he is also a suspect in the match-fixing allegations that rocked the Turkish league since early July.

According to rumors, Trabzonspor wanted to rig a game between Fenerbahçe and Sivasspor. Officials from Sivasspor reportedly asked Trabzonspor to give them double the amount Fenerbahçe offered them. The game between Fenerbahçe and Sivasspor was of vital importance for Trabzonspor because it would become the league champion if Fenerbahçe lost the match. Trabzonspor allegedly agreed to pay Sivasspor the amount it demanded but failed to come up with the money. The game ended in a 4-3 victory by Fenerbahçe and helped the club claim the league title.

The decision to lift the ban came a day after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) barred Fenerbahçe from this season's Champions League under pressure from UEFA in connection with the match-fixing investigation involving the top İstanbul club and replaced the champion with runner-up Trabzonspor.

In a related development on Thursday, Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yıldırım, who is currently arrested on charges of match-fixing allegations and establishing an armed criminal group, resigned from the Union of Clubs.

The match-fixing investigation concerns claims that some club officials and footballers had rigged games in the Spor Toto Super League and the Bank Asya League 1. Last month police raided homes and football club premises, detaining some 60 people suspected of fixing football matches in the two leagues last season. Many high-ranking football officials from various Turkish clubs, including Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş, have been arrested on charges of fraud and match-fixing.

 
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