Match-fixing indictment done, hearings next stage in the saga

The 93 suspects and the various clubs they are associated with have been held in suspense since last summer. Now, the trial is starting and the fate of Turkish football may soon be known. The governing body of football in Europe, UEFA, is asking that a decision be reached on what to do with the teams involved before the playoffs at the end of the 2011-12 season.

The unfortunate face of the case is Yıldırım, the highest-profile suspect as the chairman of football giant and 2011 Super League champion Fenerbahçe, which was denied its spot in the UEFA Champions League this season due to the massive investigation. Other suspects include a host of players and officials from various teams in the top-flight Super League and second division Bank Asya Lig 1, but Fenerbahçe seems the hardest hit, and is also fighting back the most.

Backed by the undying support of throngs of passionate Fenerbahçe supporters, Yıldırım has not taken any of the developments over these long months lying down. He is equally vocal now. The section on the chairman was read on Wednesday afternoon. Fiery as ever, Yıldırım, referring to the claim that he transferred money to an İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor player in a shady deal, demanded: “Just let them prove that I gave İbrahim Akın 100,000 euros. [If they do] I’ll throw myself off the bridge. What money did I send to what account number?”

He has also had a spat with former Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President Mehmet Ali Aydınlar, who stepped down on Jan. 31. Aydınlar is known to be involved in the club, and claims to have unreturned investments from last year. Yıldırım’s lawyers assure that “statements regarding Mehmet Ali Aydınlar are Aziz Yıldırım’s own personal thoughts.”

Yıldırım had some criticisms against the media covering the case, as well. “You describe [Former Giresunspor Chairman] Olgun Peker as being part of Fenerbahçe’s board. You create news without doing any research. Peker is not a member,” he stated. “You are still talking about match fixing on television and in the press. It’s not match fixing, not the match-fixing case, but the country that is being lost,” Yıldırım also said. “The truth will come out when we speak.”

Discussing the indictment and his team’s strategy for the upcoming trial, Abdullah Kaya, one of Yıldırım’s lawyers, stated: “The claim that Chairman Aziz has prepared a 1,200-page defense is an urban legend. We are going to use visuals from the matches in our defense.” Expressing hope about the case being resolved, he went on to say: “The indictment will have been read by the weekend. We are expecting that the defenses will have been completely delivered within two weeks.” Yıldırım’s defense was 420 pages in its entirety, but is expected to be cut down to 250 by Monday. It will take an estimated two days to read it.

Accusation and punishment

According to the indictment, the Fenerbahçe chairman is being accused of establishing and running a criminal organization to make illegal profit, fraud, match fixing and offering players financial incentives for individual matches. The matches he is accused of rigging are Fenerbahçe-İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor on May 1, 2011; Kardemir Karabükspor-Fenerbahçe on May 8, 2011; Fenerbahçe-Ankaragücü on May 15, 2011 and Sivasspor-Fenerbahçe on May 22, 2011, all of which were key to Fenerbahçe becoming champion. He faces 22-72 years imprisonment for these crimes.

Peker stands accused of establishing and running an armed criminal organization to make illegal profit, fraud, robbery, bribery, match fixing, violation of dwelling immunity, destruction of property, threats and forgery. If he is found guilty, he will face 48-115 years in the clink.

For his part, Peker is projecting an air of certainty and confidence. “When we start to read our defenses, everyone is going to see what happened very clearly. I’m completely relaxed. Everything’s good,” he told the press on Wednesday. On Thursday he gave a similar statement, saying: “Many unknown things will be in my defense. Follow it carefully. There is so much that you do not know. I will explain everything on Monday.”

Yıldırım also seems confident. Though he has been fighting for all he’s worth since the investigation started, he has also taken the time to thank his fans for all of their support -- and told them to stop picketing outside of the building where the indictments were being read because it was just too cold and rainy -- and send hopeful messages. “And I want them to know that those who believe in justice are close to justice. And I believe that, all together, we soon will see beautiful, sunny days,” were the closing lines of a letter he wrote before the indictment was read.

Here’s to hoping that he is right, and that Turkish football will soon be freed from such investigations. Although, one must also hope that match fixing and corruption, if they are indeed part of Turkish sports, are cleared up, otherwise those sunny days will always carry a blemish.