UEFA Inspector Investigates Game Fixing
UEFA officially took over the debate on game fixing and incitement that has been smouldering in the Turkish football scene for several weeks. The Union of European Football Associations announced to have closely followed the related investigation in the country beforehand. It was decided to send UEFA Disciplinary Chief Inspector Pierre Corno to Istanbul today (22 August).
Milliyet newspaper had the news that Corno is going to meet Special Authority Public Prosecutor Mehmet Berk who is carrying out the investigation. It was announced that Chief Inspector Corno is going to collect evidence and documents for an evaluation.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) on the other hand is going to give Corno an insight into the report of the Ethics Committee and inform him about the findings and suspicions stated in the report.
Milliyet also reported that Corno's arrival had been influenced by announcements made by the Galatasaray football club last week. Galatasaray stated, "If we are not able to cut off our branding finger ourselves, somebody else will come and cut off our arm. We cannot say that we were not able to do it so they handled it".
The President of the Turkish Football Federation, Mehmet Ali Aydınlar, criticized Galatasary's statement, "The history of Turkish football will not forgive these historic delusive thoughts that are like a complaint abroad and present our federation as an institution acting contrary to the law", Aydınlar said.
Allegations in the Turkish media are being put forward to have created an important factor for Pierre Crono to come to Istanbul and carry out an investigation. Corno is going to present his report to UEFA after having finished his enquiry. This report is supposed to have an influence on the Turkish teams' joining the European football cups. The results of the report may lead to the exclusion of certain Turkish teams like Fenerbahçe, Trabzonspor and Beşikaş from European football cups.
In the meantime, Yıldırım Demirören, President of the Beşiktaş football club, was summoned to the Beşiktaş (Istanbul) Courthouse this morning in the scope of the match fixing investigation.
A total of 31 persons have been arrested in the context of the match fixing investigation so far, among them Fenerbahçe football club President Aziz Yıdırım and Sivasspor President Mecnun Odyakmaz. Former TFF President Mahmut Özgener and Trabzonspor President Sadri Şener are just two of dozens of people who were interrogated as part of the investigation. (YY/VK)