TFF President Hacıosmanoğlu: There Is a Manager Who Bet for the Rival Team to Win

TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, in his remarks to A Spor, addressed the phone crisis involving Sergen Yalçın, the head coach of the national team. In response to claims that Kenan Yıldız did not answer Sergen Yalçın's phone, Hacıosmanoğlu said such a thing was not possible. Noting that Kenan Yıldız is injured, Hacıosmanoğlu said the player wanted to join the national team in November.

Hacıosmanoğlu, commenting on Sergen Yalçın's past work as a television pundit, said Sergen Yalçın is everyone's older brother. Stressing that everyone in the national team should act toward a common goal, Hacıosmanoğlu said, “This is the national team. Even if there is conflict between individuals, everyone will do their job and their duty. Even serving the national team as an equipment manager is an honor.”

Hacıosmanoğlu said a total of 448 people from the Süper Lig and the 1. Lig had been referred in the betting investigation. He said 147 of them were given a 45-day suspension from holding office, while no punishment decision was issued for the other 301. He noted that among those not punished was a manager working for a Süper Lig club who bet against his own team. Hacıosmanoğlu said this person bet on the rival team winning in a 2024-2025 season match in which his team was leading 1-0, and won 16,000 TL from a 4,000 TL bet. He added that managers who bet against their own teams would be referred to the Ethics Board and that the matter had also been reported to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. He said referrals from the 2nd and 3rd Leagues were expected and that people in those leagues also bet against their own teams.

Hacıosmanoğlu also spoke about referee Deniz Ateş Bitnel, who officiated the Galatasaray-Trabzonspor match played on February 21, 2016. Recalling that Trabzonspor finished the match with seven players after four red cards in Galatasaray's 2-1 win, Hacıosmanoğlu claimed that Mustafa Yumlu threw a punch at the end of the match without being shown a red card, and that the added time was insufficient. Hacıosmanoğlu called for an investigation into how much betting was placed on that match.