Turkish referee chief detained as federation plans overhaul

The head of Turkish football’s refereeing oversight body has been placed in pre-trial detention as the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) works to form a new committee following a graft investigation.

Ferhat Gundogdu, who heads the Central Referees Committee (MHK), appeared in court on Friday with six other referee officials. They are suspected of manipulating the referee administration process. A judge ordered Gundogdu and four others into pre-trial detention and granted the remaining two conditional release.

Federation prepares new committee

The TFF said on Saturday that it was working to form a new Central Referees Committee. It was the federation’s first comment on the arrests, which took place on Tuesday.

“In light of these developments, work is ongoing to form a new Central Referees Committee,” the TFF said in a statement on its website. It added that referees for Turkish cup matches next week would be chosen by four MHK members not caught up in the scandal.

The seven accused face charges including “official document forgery”, “breach of trust” and “illegal acquisition of personal data”. The court decisions followed their appearance on Friday, three days after the arrests.

Inquiry into referee administration

Justice minister Akin Gurlek has said prosecutors are examining claims of “interference in the processes of referee classification, assignments, scoring and appointments, as well as the exams on rules”.

Police searched the VAR room at the TFF’s headquarters in Istanbul during Tuesday’s raids. On Thursday night, police from the illegal betting and sports crime unit also detained Yasin Kol, a referee in Turkey’s top-flight Super Lig, and an assistant referee, according to media reports.