Gaziantepspor boss jailed pending trial

GAZİANTEP

İbrahim Kızıl (C) is jailed pending trial along with 14 Gaziantepspor officials.

Some 15 Gaziantepspor officials, including chairman İbrahim Kızıl and vice chairman Mehmet Kızıl, were jailed pending trial early yesterday, after being detained as part of an investigation started by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) earlier this week. 

Earlier this week, police in Gaziantep started an investigation regarding the financial situation of the club, detaining 46 officials. They have since released 31 officials pending charges. 

Gaziantep prosecutors earlier said this was a financial investigation of the Turkish Super League club and not related to the ongoing match-fixing case, which has rocked the national football agenda.

“The investigation started in October 2011 and involved the investigation of documents from Kızıl Holdings and the Gaziantepspor club from the last five years,” a press statement released by prosecutors read. “The case is not about sporting issues such as match-fixing.”

A total of 93 football officials, players and coaches from at least 10 clubs have been listed as suspects in the ongoing match-fixing case. 

Earlier this year, European football’s governing body, UEFA, hit Gaziantepspor with a ban that excluded the club from all continental competitions, due to the unpaid wages of several players.