ANKARA: Turkiye’s football federation (TFF) on Thursday imposed bans of various lengths against 102 players from its league’s top two tiers as part of a probe into alleged betting on matches, with Galatasaray’s Eren Elmali and Metehan Baltaci among those sanctioned.
Earlier this month, the TFF suspended 149 referees and assistant referees after an investigation found that officials working in the country’s professional leagues were betting on football matches.
The probe widened on Monday with the arrest of eight people, including the chairman of a top-tier club, and the suspension of 1,024 players from all leagues as the investigation continues. Matches in the second and third-tier leagues were also suspended for two weeks.
In a statement, the TFF’s Professional Football Disciplinary Council (PFDK) announced the bans that local media said involved 25 players from the top-tier Super Lig and 77 players from the second tier.
Under the measure, the PFDK imposed bans of 45 days and nine months on Elmali and Baltaci, respectively. Bans ranged from 45 days up to 12 months for some players.
The PFDK did not announce any measures against the remaining players in the probe.
TFF President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu has described the situation as a “moral crisis in Turkish football.”
Its own investigation revealed that 371 of 571 active referees in Turkiye’s professional leagues had betting accounts, and 152 of them were actively gambling.
One referee had bet 18,227 times and 42 referees had bet on more than 1,000 football matches each. Others were found to have bet only once.
Turkiye imposes bans on 102 players in gambling probe
https://arab.news/854ev
Turkiye imposes bans on 102 players in gambling probe
- The probe widened on Monday with the arrest of eight people, including the chairman of a top-tier club
- The PFDK did not announce any measures against the remaining players in the probe
England ‘not fearing anything’ against India, says Curran
- England will take on the favorites and hosts in front of 35,000 fiercely partisan fans in Mumbai on Thursday
- Curran said that because he and many of his England teammates play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), they will not be fazed
MUMBAI: England will go into their T20 World Cup semifinal against India with no fear, said all-rounder Sam Curran on Tuesday, adding that their first job would be to silence a raucous home crowd.
England will take on the favorites and hosts in front of 35,000 fiercely partisan fans in Mumbai on Thursday, with a place in the final against South Africa or New Zealand at stake.
The noise will be deafening at times in the cauldron-like confines of the Wankhede Stadium.
But Curran said that because he and many of his England teammates — such as Will Jacks at Mumbai Indians — play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), they will not be fazed.
“It’s an experience as a young cricketer you dream of — playing India in the semifinal of a World Cup,” left-arm seamer Curran told reporters.
Curran was in the international wilderness a year ago but forced his way back into the England squad with eye-catching performances in T20 franchise leagues, including the IPL.
“India are a quality side but we’ve played a lot of cricket here. We know how to play on these grounds and we know what to expect,” he said.
“The IPL, no question, has helped a lot. Having played in the ground many times, there’s not many unknowns.”
England experienced a hostile crowd at the Wankhede in their first match of the tournament when they beat Nepal in a final-ball thriller.
It was Curran who bowled the nerveless final “death” over, conceding just five runs when Nepal needed 10, to stave off an embarrassing defeat.
He then repeated the feat against Italy and has contributed with the bat from number six, scoring 149 runs so far with a best of 43 not out.
“We’re not fearing anything and I’m sure both teams are really excited by the challenge,” Curran said, adding England could judge how well they were playing by the volume of the fans.
“If the crowd are silent, England are probably going to be doing well. That’s our positive way of looking at it,” said Curran.
It is the third T20 World Cup in a row that England will have played India in the semifinals and each time the winners went on to lift the trophy.
In 2022, England crushed India by 10 wickets in Adelaide and went on to beat Pakistan in the Melbourne final.
Two years ago India won in Guyana by a similarly dominant 68 runs before downing South Africa in Barbados.
South Africa face New Zealand in the first semifinal on Wednesday. The final will take place on Sunday in Ahmedabad.
“I guess this is what the last four or five weeks have been building for,” said Curran.
“And hopefully we can take one more step toward the final.”
