Ağrı Spor, a soccer club competing in Turkey’s fourth division, announced on Monday that it no longer has a team after 17 of its players were suspended amid an investigation into a large-scale betting scandal.
Ağrı Spor Is Left Without Players
The news comes a few weeks after Turkish authorities arrested eight soccer professionals, including a top-flight club chairman, who have been accused of participating in match fixing. This was part of an investigation that also left Ağrı Spor without players as authorities suspended 17 players.
Based in Ağrı near the Iranian border, the soccer club competes in the lowest tier of Turkish professional soccer. It said it would rely on its youth team to field a side for its next match. According to the club’s vice president, Tekin Yuşan, an internal review determined that none of the players had engaged in betting since the squad was assembled in August.
Agri Spor stated that the club had mobilized all its legal and sporting resources throughout the process and had taken all necessary steps to ensure justice was served. The club added that it would continue to fight under all circumstances. Many of the suspended players claim they bet on matches several years ago, but have since stopped
Turkey Doubles Down on Pursuing Illegal Gambling in Its Professional Soccer Scene
Recently, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced that it had suspended 1,024 players across the nation’s four professional leagues for gambling on soccer, in violation of TFF, UEFA, and FIFA regulations. Among those suspended are 27 players from Süper Lig clubs (the highest professional soccer league in Turkey), including two from reigning champions Beşiktaş.
The federation also reported that 149 referees had been temporarily removed from their duties for actively betting on matches, with three more still under investigation. Meanwhile, the İstanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched a criminal inquiry into potential match-fixing. The probe found that out of 571 active professional referees in the country, 371 held betting accounts, and 152 were actively placing bets on soccer matches.
In Turkey, sports betting is allowed only through the state-run İddaa, and using foreign platforms is illegal. It remains unclear whether the suspended players and referees placed their bets legally or through offshore sites. The TFF maintains that its zero-tolerance approach aligns with UEFA and FIFA integrity rules. However, critics contend that penalizing bets from years ago disproportionately affects smaller, financially limited clubs, such as Ağrı Spor.