The head of Turkey’s football refereeing body and four others were jailed pending trial in a corruption investigation, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday.

Ferhat Gündoğdu, head of the Central Referees Committee (MHK), appeared before a judge on Friday along with six other suspects over allegations that they manipulated the administration of referees.

The committee is part of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), which oversees the sport in Turkey.

The suspects appeared at İstanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse on charges including forging official documents, breach of trust and illegally obtaining personal data.

The judge ordered five suspects jailed and granted the other two conditional release.

The case follows last year’s suspension of 149 referees by the TFF over allegations of illegal betting.

Police also detained Yasin Kol, a referee in the Süper Lig, Turkey’s top football league, and an assistant referee on Thursday night, Turkish media reported.

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek has said prosecutors are investigating alleged interference in how referees are classified, assigned to matches, scored and appointed as well as in their exams on football rules.

Police searched the room used for video assistant referee (VAR) operations at the TFF’s İstanbul headquarters during Tuesday’s raids.

“It does seem to be a continuation of 2025, and it looks like it will continue further,” sports journalist Ayhan Şensoy told Agence France-Presse.

Şensoy, who wrote a 2024 book on the issue titled “The Gambling Pit,” said the federation’s leaders were unlikely to keep their posts.

The TFF has not commented directly on the arrests.

Its senior officials were due to return to Turkey on Saturday after attending Friday’s Nations League match in Liège, Belgium, which Turkey lost 3-0.

© Agence France-Presse