Betting Investigation in Turkey: Coaches and Agents Referred to PFDK

Turkey’s football authorities have launched a wide-ranging disciplinary process after identifying betting activity among football insiders. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced that 108 coaches and technical staff and 104 licensed football agents were referred, with provisional measures, to the Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK). The cases relate to betting activity detected during periods when the individuals were actively working in professional football.

108 Coaches and Technical Staff Under Investigation

The TFF stated that the 108-person group consists of individuals who worked in Turkey’s professional leagues over the past five years in roles such as head coach, assistant coach, goalkeeper coach and “technical responsible”—a title commonly used in Turkish football for officially registered coaching staff.

According to the federation, these individuals were found to have placed bets while they were actively employed, which constitutes a disciplinary violation regardless of whether the bets were connected to their own matches.

Several well-known figures from Turkish football appear in published referral lists, including Mehmet Altıparmak, Hakan Keleş and former international striker Gökhan Ünal. The list also includes Mustafa Alper Avcı, whose profile stands out due to his international coaching experience. Avcı has previously worked in England, including a role within the coaching structure of Chorley FC, giving the case a cross-border dimension that may draw wider attention.

The TFF emphasized that inclusion on the referral list does not constitute a final ruling and that each file will be examined individually by the disciplinary board.

104 Football Agents Also Referred

The betting investigation is not limited to coaching staff. The TFF confirmed that 104 football agents, all officially registered and licensed, were also referred to the PFDK under the same disciplinary provision.

Among the names highlighted in the official referral documents are Cenk Ergün and Mustafa Erdem Karagöl, both of whom are known within Turkey’s football ecosystem due to their involvement in player representation and club negotiations. As with the coaches, the alleged violations relate to betting activity detected during periods when the agents were actively licensed.

The federation underlined that agents occupy a sensitive position in the football industry due to their close relationships with clubs and players, which is why betting restrictions apply to them as strictly as they do to on-field staff.

Separate Referral for Süper Lig Coaches: 43 Names Sent to PFDK

As part of Turkey’s ongoing betting investigation, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has launched a separate disciplinary process targeting coaches who worked in the Süper Lig. According to information reflected in Turkish media reports, 43 coaches who served in top-flight clubs over the past five years were referred with provisional measures to the Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK) for alleged betting activity during their active duty.

The referral list includes several well-known former players and coaches, among them Ümit Davala, Mustafa Sarp, Olcan Adın, and Serdar Topraktepe, who has held various coaching roles in the Süper Lig. The TFF underlined that this group constitutes a distinct referral list, separate from the broader cases involving head coaches and technical directors.

Federation sources noted that each case will be reviewed individually, and that final decisions will be made by the PFDK after the written defenses of the individuals concerned are examined.

What Rule Is Being Applied?

All referrals were made under Article 57 of the TFF Football Disciplinary Code, which governs betting-related violations. The article explicitly prohibits anyone covered by the code—including coaches, technical staff and football agents—from directly or indirectly participating in betting or games of chance related to football.

If a violation is confirmed, Article 57 allows the PFDK to impose sporting sanctions ranging from three months to one year, including bans from football activities or deprivation of football-related rights.

The TFF noted that the process is ongoing and that final decisions will only be issued after written defenses are reviewed. Outcomes will be announced publicly once the disciplinary proceedings are completed.