Turkish appeals court approves conviction of Fenerbahçe chairman in match-fixing case
ISTANBUL
Aziz Yıldırım’s Fenerbahçe presidency will be annulled, according to the code for club administrations. Hürriyet Photo
The Supreme Court of Appeals approved the conviction of Fenerbahçe chairman Aziz Yıldırım in the Turkish football match-fixing case saga on Jan. 17.The court announced that it had partially approved some convictions, but had also quashed the convictions of some of the 85 people involved in the case.
The sentence of former Giresunspor chairman Olgun Peker, who was listed as the number one suspect in the case and was sentenced to two years and six months for forming and leading a crime gang, was approved.
All officials from Trabzonspor, who lost the 2010-2011 Spor Toto Super League title to Fenerbahçe on goal difference, were cleared of match-fixing attempt charges.
In 2012, Yıldırım was sentenced to six years and three months in prison and given a penalty of one million Turkish Liras for match-fixing and forming an unarmed crime gang.
The Supreme Court’s ruling means that Yıldırım can no longer serve as a club official, according to the code for football club administrations. The sanction had required the approval of the appeals court to go into effect.
Yıldırım, along with fellow Fenerbahçe officials İlhan Ekşioğlu, Şekip Mosturoğlu, Tamer Yelkovan and Cemil Turan, were also found guilty of manipulating several games from the 2010-2011 Turkish championship.
Fenerbahçe vice chairman Şekip Mosturoğlu’s sentence of one year and 10 months in prison for match-fixing was approved in the ruling.
The case also involved a number of officials from Beşiktaş, Eskişehirspor, Sivasspor, Giresunspor and Diyarbakırspor.
High-profile names sentenced to jail
The court ruling came two-and-a-half years after police detained suspects and prosecutors eventually charged 93 individuals, including Yıldırım, in an investigation that went public on July 3, 2011.
Fenerbahçe was handed a two-year ban from European competitions by the continental governing body, UEFA, which also handed Beşiktaş a one-year ban.
The Supreme Court of Appeals also approved the court verdicts of players İbrahim Akın, Mehmet Yıldız, Gökçek Vederson, Ümit Karan, former Beşiktaş board member Serdal Adalı, and former Beşiktaş coach Tayfur Havutçu.
Former Bursaspor player Gökçek Vederson, who is currently with Antalyaspor, was sentenced to five months in prison for accepting bribes.
Former Istanbul BB player İbrahim Akın was sentenced to one year and six months in prison for match-fixing and accepting bribes.
Former Eskişehirspor player Ümit Karan was sentenced to seven months and 15 days in prison and fined 66,000 Turkish Liras for accepting bribes.
Former Eskişehirspor player Mehmet Yıldız was sentenced to one year and three months in prison for match-fixing.
Former Beşiktaş official Serdar Adalı was sentenced to one year and three months in prison and fined 250,000 liras for match-fixing.
Former Beşiktaş coach Tayfur Havutçu was sentenced to one year and three months in prison and fined 100,000 liras for match-fixing.
Havutçu and Adalı were charged with attempting to manipulate Istanbul BB’s İbrahim Akın ahead of the two teams’ Turkish Cup final match in 2011. Beşiktaş won the match on penalties.