Three Besiktas Officials Arrested as Turkish Match-Fixing Scandal Continues

Besiktas coach Tayfur Havutcu, deputy chairman Serdar Adali and club security chief Ahmet Ates were detained by Istanbul police on Thursday as part of the ongoing probe into allegations of match-fixing last season.

Aziz Yildirim and Sadri Sener, the presidents of fellow Super Lig clubs Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor, respectively, have also been arrested, and national newspapers have reported that 26 people are already awaiting trial.

Fenerbahce won the league title last season after a remarkable end-of-season run of form saw Trabzonspor edged out on goal difference. Besiktas lifted the Turkish Cup after beating Buyuksehir in a penalty shoot-out in the final. Two Buyuksehir players were also arrested on Thursday.

The Turkish Football Federation will wait for the outcome of any legal action before launching its own investigation, and both Fenerbahce and Besiktas are expected to remain in the draw for this season’s Champions League and Europa League, respectively.

A statement from UEFA earlier this week said: “Given the information received so far by UEFA there is nothing according to the UEFA statutes or regulations that leads UEFA to refuse entry to any of the clubs currently involved in the investigations in Turkey.”