Turkish Betting Bans Leave Soccer Team with No Players
Posted on: November 25, 2025, 06:02h.
Last updated on: November 25, 2025, 06:02h.
- Sweeping gambling bans leaves Ağrı Spor unable to compete.
- Over 1,000 Turkish players and referees suspended for betting.
- Critics say retroactive gambling bans punish smaller, resource-poor teams.
The betting scandal currently engulfing Turkish soccer has resulted in so many suspensions that one team has been left without enough players.
Ağrı Spor in the country’s fourth tier has been eviscerated by the sanctions, losing 17 footballers, which has left it unable to field a team.
The club complained this week that it had only seven players available and would have to rebuild frantically from its youth team and even recruit local amateurs in order to play its next fixture on November 30, against Silifke.
‘Purge the Filth’
On November 10, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced it had suspended 1,024 players across the country’s four professional leagues for gambling on soccer in violation of TFF, UEFA, and FIFA rules.
Among them are 27 players who represent clubs in the Süper Lig, Türkiye’s top tier, including two at reigning champion Beşiktaş.
The federation also announced 149 referees had been temporarily relieved of their duties for actively betting on matches. Three more remain under investigation, and the İstanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched a criminal investigation into possible match-fixing.
The investigation revealed that among the country’s active professional referees – 571 in total – 371 were found to hold betting accounts, and 152 were actively placing bets on football matches.
Authorities have issued detention orders for 21 people, including 17 referees and a club chairman.
TFF president İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu has said it’s time to “elevate Turkish soccer to its rightful place and to purge it of all its filth.”
Zero Tolerance
But Ağrı Spor, based in the eastern town of Ağrı, close to the border with Iran, said that most of its suspended players had placed bets several years ago but had not done so since.
The club’s vice president, Tekin Yuşan, said an internal review had found no betting activity by its players since the squad was formed in August.
The TFF says its zero-tolerance stance matches UEFA and FIFA integrity rules, but critics argue that punishing years-old bets hits smaller, resource-strapped teams hardest.
“Our club has mobilized all its legal and sporting resources throughout this process and has taken all necessary steps to ensure justice is served,” Ağrı Spor said on its Facebook page. “We will continue to fight under all circumstances.”
Türkiye permits sports betting only through the state-run İddaa, and using foreign sites is illegal. It’s not yet clear whether the players and referees bet legally or via offshore platforms.
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