8 more people held in Turkish fixing probe

8 more people held in Turkish fixing probe
By Suzan Fraser, Associated Press
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish police reportedly detained eight people on Monday in a match-fixing probe, raising the number of suspects to more than 50 in a scandal that has implicated league champion Fenerbahce.

The state-run Anatolia news agency says the eight are linked to topflight club Giresunspor. The club confirmed that its president and some other officials were being questioned but gave no further details. Police has declined to comment on the detentions.

Police launched simultaneous raids in homes and club offices in more than 12 Turkish cities on Sunday, detaining Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim and board member Sekip Mosturoglu among other officials and players for questioning about alleged fixing in the topflight league last season.

Aksam newspaper reported Monday that police searched the premises of Fenerbahce, Trabzonspor, Besiktas and Sivasspor, and that 19 league games are being investigated.

Dogan news agency reported Sunday that police are looking at Fenerbahce's 4-3 win over Sivasspor in the last round that helped the Istanbul club clinch the title. Fenerbahce's match against Eskisehirspor is also being probed.

Fenerbahce said in a statement on its website Monday that it is confident the club will "pull through" from the investigation.

Turkey's Star newspaper said the allegations include claims that Karabukspor's Nigerian forward, Emmanuel Emenike, and Eskisehirspor midfielder Sezer Ozturk were promised transfers in return for not playing, or playing badly, against Fenerbahce.

Karabukspor denies the allegations, saying Emenike was injured a week before the Fenerbahce game and has a doctor's certificate to prove it. Emenike has since transferred to Fenerbahce from Karabukspor in a deal worth about $9 million.

The Nigerian soccer federation issued a statement Monday saying it has written to its Turkish counterpart asking for details about Emenike's arrest.

Fenerbahce risks having its name tarnished like Italian club Juventus, which was stripped of its 2005 and '06 Serie A titles in the "Calciopoli" scandal, which revealed how favorable referees were appointed to key matches.

Turkey is the latest country affected by a slew of match-fixing and betting scandals in world soccer, involving international and club teams.

The current global wave of fixing scandals has been linked to organized criminal gangs exploiting the increased opportunities offered by online gambling to cash in on corruption.

Criminal trials in Germany and Finland this year have revealed bribes paid to players and referees to fix matches in about a dozen European leagues — mostly in lower divisions — for betting coups, as organized criminal gangs exploit the increased opportunities offered by online gambling to cash in on corruption.

South Korea and Italy have also launched criminal investigations in recent weeks to examine fixed domestic league matches.

FIFA is investigating a global network of fixers with links to Malaysia and Singapore, which is suspected of manipulating national teams' exhibition matches in Asia, Africa, Europe and South and Central America.

Most international matches under suspicion involve fixers bribing referees to influence the number of goals scored, often by awarding multiple penalty kicks.

Turkey has vowed to be tough on match-fixing, introducing legislation three months ago to battle hooliganism and cheating in soccer that included a maximum 12-year prison sentence for fixing games.

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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.