Turkey arrests refereeing chief in probe into alleged interference

Turkish authorities arrested or detained seven people, including Ferhat Gündoğdu, head of the Turkish Football Federation’s Central Referees Committee, in an investigation into alleged interference in refereeing procedures, Justice Minister Akin Gürlek said Tuesday. Gürlek said the allegations concern referee classification and assignments, scoring and appointment procedures, and examinations on officiating rules. He said investigators had taken statements from complainants and witnesses, consulted expert reports, and examined communications records and financial data. The minister did not publicly specify the alleged acts or identify any matches connected to the investigation. The accounts described the seven as including Gündoğdu and six others. One report said the group included the committee’s vice president and five other members. Searches were conducted at suspects’ homes, workplaces and offices, according to Gürlek’s account as reported in the supplied material. The allegations have not been established as fact, and the available information does not explain how the suspected interference was carried out.