Gümüşdağ free after one-day detention

Göksel Gümüşdağ, a key figure at the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), was released yesterday, a day after being detained as part of the ongoing match-fixing case.

The vice president of the TFF was detained as a “suspect” in what appeared to be the latest wave in the case, which has been rocking the country’s football world since July 3.

Gümüşdağ was called to testify at the Istanbul Police Department on the morning of Nov. 19. Police simultaneously launched searches at the TFF’s headquarters in the İstinye neighborhood of Istanbul.

Yesterday, Gümüşdağ was sent to an Istanbul courthouse for further questioning but was released a few hours later.

Gümüşdağ has been seen as a critical figure in the case because he was the chairman of the Istanbul BB football club, two of whose players are jailed pending trial on allegations of match fixing. However, daily Hürriyet reported that Gümüşdağ was not asked about last season’s controversial Turkish Cup final between Beşiktaş and Istanbul BB but was instead quizzed about his telephone conversations with Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yıldırım.

Yıldırım is the highest-profile name among the 31 football club officials, coaches and players who have been jailed pending trial on allegations of match fixing.

Last season’s Spor Toto Super League champion, Fenerbahçe, runner-up Trabzonspor and Ziraat Turkish Cup winner Beşiktaş are the three high-profile teams involved in the case, and all risk being relegated from the top flight for the first time in their history. The Super League’s Sivasspor, Eskişehirspor, Istanbul BB and Mersin İdman Yurdu, as well as League One sides Giresunspor and Diyarbakırspor, have also been involved in the case.

Gümüşdağ is known for his close ties with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Apart from his post at the municipal-founded Istanbul BB club, he is married to Müge Gülbaran, a former secretary to the prime minister and the niece of Erdoğan’s wife, Emine.