Fenerbahce chief convicted over match-fixing
Reuters - Monday 02 July 2012, 15:13
A court sentenced Fenerbahce
chairman Aziz Yildirim to more than six years in jail on Monday
in a match-fixing trial which has caused turmoil in Turkey but
released him from custody pending an appeals court ruling.
Yildirim was among several 93 defendants, including club
executives and players, convicted in a case closely watched by
European football's ruling body UEFA.
"They are trying to use Fenerbahce to clean the dirt in the
matches. I say now as I did at the start: even if we are on the
gallows, our last word is Fenerbahce," Yildirim said before the
verdict was announced.
The court sentenced Yildirim to three years and nine months
for match-fixing and two years and six months for forming an
illegal organisation but then released him taking into account
the year he has already spent in jail on remand.
He was also fined 1.3 million lira ($720,000) and was banned
from club management and watching matches. Other Fenerbahce
executives were also convicted, as were a former coach and
executive from rival Istanbul club Besiktas.
Yildirim's lawyer said he would launch an appeal.
Hundreds of Fenerbahce supporters outside the court in
central Istanbul, many dressed in the club's blue and yellow
shirts, celebrated the news the chairman was going to be
released.
Fans later gathered in front of Metris jail in Istanbul to
give Yildirim a rapturous welcome as he emerged from prison.
A tearful Yildirim, a Fenerbahce flag wrapped around his
neck, shook the hands of well-wishers and waved to the crowd.
Fenerbahce shares, which rallied more than eight percent
after his release, were down 0.45 percent in afternoon trading.
Yildirim has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, arguing the
allegations were designed to undermine the 18-times Turkish
champions.
PLAYERS CONVICTED
The affair erupted last July when police raids led to the
detention of dozens of people including Yildirim.
The trial began in February and a verdict was reached at
uncharacteristic speed for the normally slow-moving Turkish
judicial system.
Former Giresunspor chairman Olgun Peker was sentenced to two
years jail for crimes including forming a criminal gang. Like
Yildirim and the two other defendants who were still held in
custody until Monday's hearing, he was set free pending appeal.
The Sivasspor chairman and former coach Bulent Uygun were
also convicted along with players Gokcek Vederson, Ibrahim Akin
and Mehmet Yildiz who received sentences of less than one year.
Fenerbahce were barred from the Champions League last season
and there had been media speculation the club could be stripped
of the domestic title and relegated to a lower league.
In January, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) chairman
and his two deputies quit over the TFF's failure to agree on how
to punish clubs caught up in the match-fixing allegations.
The federation's disciplinary committee in May imposed bans
of between one and three years on 10 players and officials but
did not take action against any clubs.
The indictment named eight clubs, including Fenerbahce,
Besiktas and Trabzonspor and 14 players among the defendants.
It referred to around a dozen matches including Fenerbahce's
4-3 victory over Sivasspor which clinched the league
championship on the final day of the season in 2011.