Is Fener chair Aziz Yıldırım an angel or a devil?
The way in which the match-fixing case is reflected in the public, as well as the extracts the media have printed, is, unfortunately, a huge injustice to those who have been charged by the prosecutor. An instant wave of accusation is generated in the public eye, regardless of how much believability or credibility those individuals have. Even in the minds of those who do not think in such a way, a question mark appears.
The situation starts with images of those who are in the position of defendants being detained in front of cameras, escorted by policemen by their arms and held by their heads as they are put into police cars. In any event, these images would be enough for them to be immediately stigmatized. What happens next will not make life easy for them either.
Before anything else, the indictment is only fully read by lawyers and journalists. Otherwise, everybody reads the papers to learn about it. The job actually gets tougher from then on as the media picks up sensational pieces from the indictment.
More importantly, the defense against the prosecutor’s claims is not covered. Thus, it reads as if whatever the prosecutor says is true and, without knowing how strong the evidence is, suspicion rises. Even those who are sure of the defendant’s innocence change their tone.
Moreover, when you read each accusation one after the other, you are affected regardless of how absurd they may be. You start saying, “Even if 90 percent of these are made up and the remaining 10 percent is true, that is enough.”
Add to this, the cases last for years and the same discussions are had for years.
Those who are accused, if they are behind bars, cannot publicly defend themselves. This results in the defendants being sentenced as “guilty” in the minds of people.
The verdict of the court is not so important; the public has already reached its own verdict. Even if you are found innocent and acquitted, it does not have much of an effect.
If you are really innocent, what is important is you should be able to protect yourself from this cogwheel. If you are between the cogs, there is no way you will be unhurt. This is the biggest irregularity of our justice.
UEFA punishes even the tiniest suspicion
Now, let us see the other side of the coin. The UEFA practice is very clear.
It does not wait for the court verdict; if there is a “suspicion that bribery or an activity in that direction is involved,” it is enough and it asks for a punishment. Our system seems to be built on bribery. These guys cannot even comprehend the “incentive bonus” we consider very normal. “What do you mean? What does it mean to give a bonus to another team to win? Is this another form of bribery?” they ask. From where you stand, a correct judgment.
If you read the indictment with the eyes of UEFA, then a significant part of the accused should be punished by the federation because there is enough suspicion in the indictment. As a matter of fact, even if 90 percent of it is incorrect evaluation, the remaining 10 percent is enough.
Whatever the outcome is, this case seems as though it will prevent the disgusting match fixing in our league. Nobody from now on will dare opt for this route as quickly so long as future administrations of the federation continue to demonstrate the same sensitivity.
