TURKISH CLUBS AT CROSSROADS

Millions in investment and the rapid development of book-making have turned Turkish football into a ground for active machinations. The steps the authorities have been taking to prevent match-fixing have not produced the desired effect, which is illustrated by the arrest of 25 well-known footballers, managers and coaches in early July. The president of the renowned football club Fenerbahce, Aziz Yildirim, was among those arrested.

The police say there is evidence that the result of 19 matches in two Turkish top divisions had been agreed in advance last year. 

According to the Turkish law, any action aiming to affect the outcome of a match in an unfair manner is punishable by 12 years' imprisonment. Even the forward of the "yellow canaries", Emmanual Emenike, has had to face justice. Law-enforcement agencies have obtained video footage of the Nigerian accepting money from a "stranger" in order to lose a match afterwards. But the African's guilt subsequently remained unproved. 

Besides Emenike and Yildirim, the list of persons taken into custody or interrogated also includes the president of Sivasspor, Mehnun Odiakmaz, the sports director of Eskisehirspor, Umit Karan, and the Turkish national team striker, Mehmet Ildis. FIFA has made it clear that it expects Ankara to take drastic measures to thwart match-fixing. In response, the Turkish football federation said a decision would be made after the investigation either to strip Fenerbahce of its championship title or bar several clubs from the top flight. 

The leaders of other well-known Turkish clubs, Besiktas and Galatasaray, have already expressed their protest at the decision, indicating that if Fenerbahce is barred from the top division the "economic balance" in football will be undermined. 

And their worries were not unfounded. The scandal has immediately taken toll on the advertising market. Fenerbahce's main sponsor, telephone operator Avea, has already expressed disappointment, adding that it was concerned over its reputation. All Turkish clubs have joined to urge the federation to wait for the court's verdict. Whatever the outcome of the investigation, Fenerbahce has already suffered huge losses - the club's shares have plummeted in value three times. 

As a result, the federation has been left with a choice. One of the options is to announce, without waiting for the prosecution's charges, that several clubs are being barred from the top flight, which will enable Trabzonspor to participate in the UEFA Champions League and Kaiserispor to enter the Europa League competition. But it is already clear that the prosecutor's office can't make its findings public before 6 August, the start of a new football season in Turkey.

Another option is to leave everything the way it is. If so, Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor will participate in the UEFA Champions League, while Bursaspor, Besitkas and Gaziantepspor will play in the Europa League.

It remains to be seen what clubs will replace Fenerbahce should it be expelled from the top division. These may be the teams that were promoted to the top flight or the teams that played in playoffs this year.

It is also possible that the football federation will take sanctions against all wheeler-dealers  until a court decision is handed down. This means that they will be temporarily prohibited to engaged in any sporting activities. 

Finally, there are suggestions that the prosecutor's office can prepare a conclusion before the start of the season, so that the court could pass its verdict. And if the accusations are proven, the essence of the verdict will be immediately communicated to UEFA, and then the teams will not be banned from playing in international competitions, but will also be sent to the second division regardless of the stage in the national championship.

Interestingly, UEFA has quickly altered information about Fenerbahce on its web-site by describing it as a 17-time Turkish champion, thus ignoring the club's 18th title.

Fenerbahce became champion by winning 16 out of 17 last matches, thus finishing ahead of Tranzonspor only on goal difference. The club's reaction followed immediately. "We are 18-time champions, and will remain as such until the court decision. UEFA has to take that into consideration," says a statement of the club whose 58-year-old president is now in custody. 

It is also quite interesting that searches conducted in the offices of some clubs have revealed eight unregistered guns, which confirmed fears concerning criminalization of Turkish football. But Fenerbahce also has an influential patron, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has promised to keep the investigation under his own control. The premier called on Fenerbahce fans to wait for the court's decision, adding that the club's president was entitled to defense. It is already known that Faik Isik, who once defended Erdogan himself, would act as Yirldirim's defense lawyer.

As for fans, they have had to make a choice: either to wait for the verdict or to conduct demonstrations. Many of them chose the latter option. Soon after Yildirim's arrest the infuriated fans staged a rally in the streets of Istanbul.

Meanwhile, leading Turkish football clubs are rolling out plans to support the so far incumbent champion. The campaign has even been joined by the arch foe of the "yellow canaries", FC Galatasaray, whose leaders have said the club may be interested in signing several well-known Fenerbahce players should the club be barred from the top division. It is stressed that money would not be paid for the players, that they would be allowed to play until Fenerbahce qualified for the top flight again.

The suggestion by several experts that Fenerbahce should go into the new season with 30 points less than other clubs was rejected by the club's administration. 

The Turkish sporting community is in a difficult situation. There can be no concessions to Fenerbahce. According to the UEFA charter, the country that fails to transfer the teams guilty of match-fixing into lower divisions should be severely punished. Under such circumstances, national teams and clubs may face a five-year ban for participation in all UEFA competitions. Turkish football is at a crossroads. A new championship is scheduled to start in less than a month and time is running out…