10 mln-lira fraud in amateur sport scene

ISTANBUL

A recent probe by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) revealed that the governing body had been unwittingly paying the costs of non-existent matches claimed to be played in the amateur league.

The investigation was launched a month ago upon media reports of a fraud case in the central Anatolian province of Kırıkkale. The investigation, however, showed that the Kırıkkale fraud was only the tip of the iceberg, the daily Milliyet reported yesterday.

According to charges that kick-started the TFF investigation, the Provincial Referees’ Committee in Kırıkkale have been assigning referees to games that have never been played, thus issuing undeserved revenues to referees registered to have directed 30 matches although the real number was as low as two. Media reports claimed that the total amount of the fraud gain was 40,000 Turkish Liras.

Turkish Football federation Chairman Yldırım Demirören had said he would investigate the case come what may and that the probe, which began with his order, revealed the fraud case was more widespread than just Kırıkkale province and the criminal organization had its roots in earlier years of the federation. The investigation showed that the total undeserved gain from non-existent matches, tournaments and referees and observers assigned to these false games, reached 10 million liras.

The federation made a criminal complaint regarding the case and the Arbitration Commission cancelled the licenses of the names known to have taken part in the crime.