The match-fixing indictment submitted by chief prosecutor Mehmet Berk to the 16th High Criminal Court on Saturday has pushed Turkish football further to abyss.

Istanbul / NationalTurk – The primary consequences of the match fixing indictment was immediately felt in Sunday’s matches, eclipsing the results of the games of week 14, as İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor’s Can Arat, Bursaspor’s left back Gökçek Vederson and Sivasspor striker Mehmet Yıldız were withdrawn from their respective teams due to their suspect status.

They belong to a total of 44 players, trainers and club officials who  have been incriminated inTurkey’s worst rigging scandal and these players, trainers have been banned from all stadiums in Turkey even as spectators, let alone playing for their respective teams. Some of the players and theşr teams are: Mehmet Yıldız( Eskişehirspor), Emmanuel Emenike (Nigeria/Spartak Moskow), Ümit Karan(Eskişehirspor), Sezer Öztürk (Fenerbahce), İbrahim Akın (İBB), İskender Alın (İBB), Serdar Kulbilge (Genclerbirliği), Mahmut Boz ( Sivaspor), Sercan Yıldırım (Galatasaray), Gökçek Vederson(Bursaspor), Korcan Çelikay(Sivasspor), Murat Şahin and Mustafa Ulaş Ortakaya.

Once footballers, trainers or club executives now culprits and suspects

This order was not implemented on Saturday, the day the indictments were delivered to court. But on Sunday the police were instructed to forbid the suspects and culprits from entering stadiums.

As a result, three players — İstanbul’s Arat, Bursaspor’s Turkish-Brazilian left back Vederson and Sivasspor striker Yıldız — were withdrawn from their respective teams.

İstanbul Büyükşehir and Bursa could not cope with the shock and lost their games.

Mersin İdman Yurdu, promoted to the Super League this season, is another team mentioned here, there and everywhere throughout the indictment. Deputy Chairman Beşir Acar, a suspect in the scandal, was advised that it is in his own interest for the club to stay far away from the Mersin stadium. Acar complied. The Mersin was therefore in a state of shock in the home match against newcomer Orduspor later on Sunday, and the match ended exactly the way it started: 0-0.

Life for Fenerbahce Chairman Aziz Yıldırım

The indictment also calls for up to 132 years in jail for gangter leader Aziz Yıldırım, the Fenerbahçe chairman, who is currently being held at İstanbul’s Metris jail. Aziz Yıldırım is accused of serious fraud, involvement in several cases of match-fixing and giving incentive payments to the opponents of his rivals.

Bank Asya’s Black Sea side Giresunspor as well as Chairman Olgun Peker, who is accused of forming an organized crime gang, are also neck deep in this unprecedented scandal, according to the indictment. He is referred in the indictment as suspect # 1.

The punishments sought in the indictment are harsh because match-fixing in Turkey is now a felony. Those who stand accused are crying foul, claiming or feigning innocence. But the fact of the matter is that everyone must treat prosecutor Berk with respect if he is doing his job as stipulated by the law of the land.

Fenerbahce Turkish Football Federation battle hard

Fenerbahçe executives lashed out at the TFF at a press conference last week, saying an UEFA document submitted to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) stated clearly that UEFA Chief Legal Counsel for Integrity and Regulatory Affairs Pierre Cornu had been told by TFF officials that Fenerbahçe had been involved in match-fixing during a visit to Istanbul in August, despite TFF statements from Lutfi Aribogan, senior TFF executive, suggesting the contrary.

After TFF barred Fenerbahçe from Champions League matches, second-placed Trabzonspor — eliminated in the Champions League qualifying rounds — was chosen by UEFA to replace Fenerbahçe, although the Black Sea team has also been implicated in the match-fixing probe. The TFF then stated it made its decision under pressure from UEFA, which, it said, had warned against dire consequences for all Turkish football teams and regulatory bodies if Fenerbahçe was not excluded from the Champions League.

Fenerbahçe protested the decision and appealed to CAS for a review. Last week, Fenerbahçe executives said that, according to what Cornu told CAS, TFF officials’(Lutfi Aribogan) talks with UEFA official appeared to be the only reason the İstanbul team was barred from the Champions League. They said Cornu’s statement to CAS shows that the TFF officials had told UEFA official that Fenerbahçe was definitely guilty of match-fixing, despite TFF statements that they had never discussed the match-fixing allegations with Cornu.

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