Decisive report on match fixing leaked

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

DHA photo

Turkish daily Sabah yesterday released a supposed report of the Ethics Committee of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), likely to be crucial to the match-fixing investigation.

It was claimed the Ethics Committee ruled Fenerbahçe was involved in manipulation of five matches on its way to winning the Spor Toto Super League last season.

The report also said the club was involved in paying incentives to the rivals of Trabzonspor and Bursaspor, the other title contenders last year, in six matches.

Championship game

According to the report, the list of manipulated games included the May 22 game between Fenerbahçe and Sivasspor, played on the last day of the season. The match ended in a 4-3 win for Fenerbahçe.
Five officials from Fenerbahçe, including Chairman Aziz Yıldırım, are jailed pending trial as part of the match-fixing case. There are a total of 93 suspects in the probe.

The Ethics Committee, comprised of five law experts, was assigned by the TFF to examine documents and evidences given by the prosecutors. The Ethics Committee was presented with the documents July 11, eight days after the investigation went public, and completed its report Aug. 15.

The TFF then refused to make a decision on the teams involved, since the case was still listed confidential, depriving the sides of their right to defend themselves.

As part of the procedure, the Ethics Committee would present its report to the Professional Football Disciplinary Committee, which has the power to punish the teams and people involved in match fixing. However, TFF Chairman Mehmet Ali Aydınlar said earlier they would wait until the end of the season to decide on the fines.