Turkish Football in Crisis: 1,024 Players Including Eren Elmali Suspended in Massive Betting Scandal

Turkish football faces its most severe integrity crisis in history as the Turkish Football Federation suspended 1,024 professional players on November 10, 2025, following evidence they participated in illegal betting activities. The unprecedented mass suspension includes 27 players from the top-tier Super Lig, most notably Galatasaray defender and Turkish international Eren Elmali, who was immediately withdrawn from the national team squad ahead of crucial World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Bulgaria scheduled for later this month.

The Scope of the Investigation

The suspensions represent a precautionary measure under Article 57 of the Football Disciplinary Instructions as players await hearings before the Professional Football Disciplinary Board. The investigation spans all levels of Turkish professional football, with the most significant impact felt in the lower divisions.

The Turkish Football Federation has initiated urgent negotiations with FIFA to request an additional 15-day transfer and registration period before the January window opens. This emergency measure would allow clubs to replace suspended players and maintain competitive squads during what TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu described as a “moral crisis in Turkish football.”

Eren Elmali: The Highest-Profile Casualty

Among those suspended, Eren Elmali represents the most prominent name. The 25-year-old left-back has been a Champions League regular for Galatasaray this season and holds 20 caps for Turkey’s national team. His removal from the World Cup qualifying squad came just days before crucial matches that will determine Turkey’s path to the 2026 tournament in North America.

Eren Elmali’s Response

Elmali issued a statement late Monday on Instagram addressing his inclusion in the investigation. The defender acknowledged that his name appears in the file due to a single betting transaction approximately five years ago on a match unrelated to his own team. He emphasized that since that incident, he has neither placed bets nor had any connection to betting activities.

“I want to clearly state that the reason my name appears in this file is due to a bet placed about five years ago on a match unrelated to my own team,” Elmali wrote. “Since that day, I have neither placed bets nor had the slightest connection to this matter.”

His replacement in the Turkey squad was Trabzonspor player Mustafa Eskihellaç, while İzzet Çelik was dropped from the Under-21 team and Ege Albayrak from the Under-19 squad as the betting investigation rippled through all levels of Turkish national team football.

Galatasaray’s Cautious Response

Galatasaray president Dursun Özbek offered measured support to both Elmali and fellow suspended teammate Metehan Baltaci while backing the federation’s investigation. Speaking at a sports summit organized by Turkuvaz, Özbek acknowledged the complexity of judging players whose alleged betting occurred years ago versus recent offenders.

“Of course, players who bet should be punished,” Özbek stated. “However, players who bet four or five years ago shouldn’t be put on the same scale as those who bet a week or two ago. These are young people. They may have made mistakes at the time, without realizing it or knowing what they were doing.”

The club president emphasized another crucial consideration: whether players bet on their own team’s matches or on unrelated fixtures. This distinction could significantly influence the severity of punishments handed down by the disciplinary board. In its official statement, Galatasaray said it was “monitoring” the process and waiting for the investigation to be completed before taking further action.

Besiktas Players Vehemently Deny Allegations

The scandal also ensnared two prominent Besiktas players: veteran midfielder Necip Uysal and goalkeeper Ersin Destanoğlu. Both players issued strong denials and filed criminal complaints alleging their identity information had been fraudulently used to create betting accounts without their knowledge.

Uysal, 34, who has spent his entire professional career with Besiktas, expressed outrage at the allegations. “I’ve never had any connection to betting in my life,” he declared. “I’ve never played or had a betting account. The idea never even crossed my mind. I will fight with all my might to prevent my name, which I’ve worked tirelessly to keep clean for years, from being brought into the spotlight in this way.”

Destanoğlu, the 24-year-old goalkeeper, criticized the federation’s approach: “Our federation shared our names without contacting us first, attempting to tarnish our reputations.” He claimed that a betting account had been opened using his Turkish ID number without his consent, raising questions about identity theft and data security in Turkish football.

Besiktas issued a statement expressing “full confidence” in both players’ innocence and announced plans to initiate legal proceedings with the Turkish Football Federation. The club emphasized the presumption of innocence principle, noting: “This sensitive situation, which deeply concerns our players’ personal rights, their families, and our community, is crucial for this process to be carried out with the utmost care, taking into account the universal legal norm of the presumption of innocence.”

The Referee Scandal That Started It All

The player suspensions represent the second wave of a betting scandal that first emerged on October 27, 2025, when the Turkish Football Federation announced shocking findings from an internal audit of match officials. The investigation revealed that 371 of Turkey’s 571 active referees—representing 65%—owned at least one betting account, directly violating FIFA and UEFA integrity codes.

Referee Investigation Findings

Eight individuals have been arrested in connection with the scandal, including Eyüpspor Club President Murat Özkaya and six referees. The arrests came after a detention order was issued for 21 individuals, including former Kasımpaşa president Fatih Saraç, who was later released after providing testimony.

The suspended referees issued a collective statement vehemently denying they ever placed bets on matches they officiated. They admitted some had participated in online betting years ago during their amateur days, while accusing the federation of turning them into scapegoats in what they characterized as a politically charged operation.

The Jose Mourinho Connection

The scandal adds context to comments made by legendary Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho during his tenure at Fenerbahce from July 2024 to August 2025. In January 2025, Mourinho launched a scathing attack on Turkish referees, threatening to boycott the Turkish Cup in protest.

“I never saw anything like this before, it’s a scandal,” Mourinho declared at the time. His accusations, which seemed hyperbolic when initially made, now appear prescient given the scale of corruption revealed by the federation’s investigation. Fenerbahce has since welcomed the investigation’s findings, claiming they confirm the club’s long-standing arguments about a “toxic system” in Turkish football.

Emergency Measures and League Disruptions

The sheer scale of suspensions has forced the Turkish Football Federation to implement unprecedented emergency measures. While Super Lig and 1. Lig matches will continue as scheduled, all fixtures in the 2. Lig and 3. Lig have been postponed for two weeks to allow third and fourth-tier clubs time to address catastrophic squad shortages.

Of the 1,024 suspended players, 911 come from the 2. Lig and 3. Lig, effectively decimating rosters at lower levels of Turkish professional football. Many clubs in these divisions operate with minimal squad depth, and losing multiple players simultaneously threatens their ability to field competitive teams when fixtures resume.

The federation’s request to FIFA for an emergency 15-day transfer window before the January window represents an acknowledgment that many clubs cannot continue without reinforcements. However, this solution creates new complications: rushed signings, potential exploitation of desperate clubs by agents, and competitive imbalances between clubs with resources to sign replacements versus those without.

The Disciplinary Process Ahead

The Turkish Football Federation emphasized that the suspensions are precautionary measures pending full disciplinary hearings. The federation announced that 47 players found to have engaged in a single betting transaction will have their cases reviewed based on new evidence and information obtained from official replies received from relevant institutions.

This distinction suggests the federation recognizes gradations of guilt between players who placed occasional recreational bets years ago versus those engaged in systematic betting or match-fixing activities. The outcomes of these hearings will determine whether players face permanent bans, temporary suspensions, financial penalties, or exoneration if identity theft or other mitigating circumstances are proven.

International precedent suggests varying approaches to betting infractions. In England, Ivan Toney received an eight-month ban for placing 232 bets over four years, none on his own team’s matches. In Italy, Nicolò Fagioli received a seven-month ban reduced from one year for betting on his own club. Turkish authorities must now determine how severely to punish offenses ranging from single historical bets to potentially more serious infractions.

Political and Social Implications

TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu’s characterization of the situation as a “moral crisis” reflects concerns extending beyond sporting integrity. Turkish football holds enormous cultural significance, and revelations of widespread corruption among referees and players have shaken public confidence in institutions more broadly.

The timing is particularly sensitive given Turkey’s ongoing efforts to position itself as a serious contender to host future major tournaments. The joint Spain-Portugal-Morocco 2030 World Cup bid excludes Turkey despite the country’s modern stadiums and passionate football culture. Scandals of this magnitude reinforce perceptions that Turkish football lacks the governance standards expected of elite hosting nations.

What Happens Next

As the investigation continues, Turkish football faces months of uncertainty. Disciplinary hearings for 1,024 players will take considerable time, during which clubs must navigate competitive seasons with depleted rosters and uncertain futures. The emergency transfer window, if FIFA approves it, will create a chaotic scramble for available players.

For Eren Elmali and others who admit to historical betting but claim no recent involvement, the coming weeks will determine whether their careers recover or suffer permanent damage. For those like Necip Uysal and Ersin Destanoğlu who deny any involvement and claim identity theft, vindication depends on forensic investigation of account creation and betting patterns.

The broader question is whether Turkish football can implement reforms sufficient to restore public trust and international credibility. The federation has introduced a VAR system enhanced by AI and established a whistleblower hotline to combat potential match-fixing, but technological solutions alone cannot address cultural problems that allowed corruption to flourish so extensively.

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