TFF boss announces end of match-fixing row today
ANTALYA - Hürriyet Daily News
Demirören is expected to make a possible decision on the match-fixing scandal today. AA photo
Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Chairman Yıldırım Demirören is expected to make a possible decision on the country’s long-running match-fixing scandal during a press conference set for today.Demirören is likely to announce a decision on at least eight teams and 93 football club officials, players and coaches who were allegedly involved in rigging or attempted to manipulate last season’s top two national football leagues, the Spor Toto Super League and Bank Asya League One.
Demirören’s announcement will come in the wake of a three-day meeting marathon by the TFF in Antalya after the country’s football governing body received a key report by the Ethics Committee.
The Ethics Committee had been working on its report for months and presented it to the TFF’s Disciplinary Committee, which will decide whether there were or not there were manipulated games last season.
Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor, three of the country’s top teams, are allegedly involved in rigging and risk being demoted from the top flight for the first time in their history.
According to the much-debated 58th article of the TFF Disciplinary Code, “any team that manipulates or attempts to manipulate will be relegated,” but the football’s governing body is considering whether to lighten the punishment for the alleged rigging out of apparent concerns that interest in the Super League would dip if top clubs were relegated.
Daily Hürriyet reported yesterday that the TFF would try to amend the 58th article by changing the penalty for match fixing from relegation to a fine.
The TFF, under then-chairman Mehmet Ali Aydınlar, tried to institute a similar change earlier this year.
After an extraordinary congress, Aydınlar presented a proposed on not imposing the 58th article in this particular match-fixing case, but a TFF delegation voted against the motion, leading the chairman to step down.
