Friday, July 22, 2011

Raphael Honigstein: Fallout from shocking Turkey match-fixing scandal continues

The special police unit "Organized Crime" swooped at 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning two weeks ago. Around 40 players, managers and officials from nine Turkish football clubs as well as three Turkish FA leaders were arrested in connection with an eight-month-long investigation into organized match-fixing. Among them was Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim, one of the most powerful and richest men in Turkey. In a second wave of arrests, another 20 men were apprehended. The police allege match rigging on an industrial scale; politicians, media and the supporters are shocked. "If only five percent of the allegations are true, it would be terrible for sport in Turkey," said Huseyin Celik, the deputy chairman of the ruling AKP party.

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