A match fixing scandal reported a few days ago in Turkish newspapers rocked Turkish soccer and European soccer in general. There has been some action taken in order to alleviate the problem. Kayserispor, currently in fourth place in the Turkcell Super League, has suspended midfielder Bilal Aziz Özer from the team due to allegations that he and two other players, whom have not been named, attempted to manipulate a match this season against Eskişehirspor. The said match took place on October 4th of last year.
The Milliyet newspaper implicated Özer as one of the players listed in the report by the Bochum Public Prosecutors office. The report, which contains tapped phone conversations between Özer and one of the members of the match-fixers, disclosed that Özer and two other players would conspire to lose the match against Eskişehirspor. Kayserispor would win the match 1-0, and Özer and the two other teammates were threatened to make up for the loss or face consequences, which included death threats. The other two teammates were not identified by Özer when he had spoken to the match-fixer.
The Turkish Football Federation has now referred the case to the Professional Football Disciplinary Committee (PFDK) for investigation. The TFF Ethics board will be commissioned to investigate the claims. Özer could face up to a three year banishment from the sport if found guilty. The issue will be addressed on January 14th when the TFF Board of Directors will have a meeting to address the allegations against Özer.
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