Turkish Footballer Suspended for Match Fixing

Posted: January 11, 2010

Updated: October 4, 2017

Turkcell Super League football team Kayserispor has suspended their midfielder, Bilal Aziz Özer, after a local newspaper detailed his role in a

Turkcell Super League football team Kayserispor has suspended their midfielder, Bilal Aziz Özer, after a local newspaper detailed his role in a match fixing scandal. Özer has been accused of trying to lose an October 4 league match against Eskişehirspor. Kayserispor in fact won the match 1-0 with a goal assisted by Özer, but the team is nonetheless upset with the allegations against their player.

This situation came to light after the daily Milliyet newspaper published details from a report filed with German prosecutors outlining an investigation into the match. The report named Özer as one of three players involved; Özer has refused to reveal the identity of the other two. The report is based on evidence from a tapped phone conversation between Özer and the match fixing gang.

A complaint was filed against Özer by the Professional Football Disciplinary Committee on Sunday. Özer faces charges of ‘manipulating the outcome of a match’ and ‘being involved in betting or any kind of gambling, directly or indirectly’. According to Turkish gambling laws, the only entity in the country allowed to offer sports betting services is IDDAA, which is operated by the state. IDDAA operates more than 4,000 betting shops across the country, as well as the only official online sportsbook in Turkey.

This fiasco comes in the wake of November’s match fixing scandal that saw German police bust a large and well-organized ring suspected of manipulating more than 200 matches across Europe, including 29 in Turkey. The gang is thought to have earned as much as 10 million euros by placing bets with bookmakers across Europe and Asia.