The head of Turkey’s football refereeing body, Ferhat Gündoğdu, and four others have been remanded in custody as part of a corruption investigation into alleged manipulation of the referee administration process, state news agency Anadolu reported Saturday.
Gündoğdu, head of the Central Referees Committee (MHK), and six others appeared before a judge at Istanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse on Friday.
They face several allegations, including official document forgery, breach of trust and illegal acquisition of personal data.
Anadolu reported that the court ordered five suspects to remain in custody, while the other two were granted conditional release.
The investigation is the latest scandal to hit Turkish football, coming a year after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees over alleged illegal betting.
On Thursday, police from the illegal betting and sports crimes unit also detained Super Lig referee Yasin Kol and an assistant referee, according to Turkish media reports.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said prosecutors were investigating allegations of interference in referee classification, appointments, assignments and scoring, as well as examinations on football rules.
During raids on Tuesday, police searched the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) room at the TFF headquarters in Istanbul.
Sports journalist Ayhan Şensoy told AFP that the investigation appeared to be linked to last year’s betting scandal and could have wider implications for the football federation.
“It does seem to be a continuation of 2025, and it looks like it will continue further,” Şensoy said.
The TFF has yet to issue a detailed public response to the latest arrests. Its senior officials were due to return to Turkey on Saturday after attending Friday’s UEFA Nations League match between Belgium and Turkey in Liège, where Turkey lost 3-0.
