Platini and Turkish PM discuss match-fixing
Reuters - Tuesday 20 March 2012, 10:03
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan and UEFA President Michel Platini discussed a
match-fixing investigation which has overshadowed Turkish football in talks ahead of UEFA meetings in Turkey this week, newspaper
reports said on Tuesday.
Erdogan, himself a former footballer, met Platini at the
ruling AK Party's headquarters in Ankara on Monday ahead of the
UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday and
Wednesday.
The UEFA Congress of Europe's 53 national associations will
be held in Istanbul on Thursday. Host venues, including stadiums
for the 2014 UEFA Champions League and Europa League finals,
will be appointed at the Executive Committee meeting.
Erdogan and Platini discussed the match-fixing probe, under
which 93 people including the chairman of champions Fenerbahce
are being tried in an Istanbul court, Radikal newspaper
reported.
The allegations emerged last July when police detained those
accused of involvement in rigging 13 matches, including
Fenerbahce's 4-3 victory over Sivasspor which clinched the
league championship on the final day of last season.
Alongside Fenerbahce and Sivasspor, the indictment also
names Besiktas and Trabzonspor. Fourteen players are among the
defendants.
Radikal newspaper said Platini had told Erdogan in their
talks that it would be a good idea for Fenerbahce to withdraw a
45-million-euro case which the club has opened
against UEFA at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over
its exclusion from this season's Champions League.
No statement has been issued on the content of the talks,
which officials described as a courtesy visit, and the Radikal
report could not be confirmed.
Monday's talks were also attended by Turkey's sports
minister, UEFA's Turkish vice president Senes Erzik and the new
chairman of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), Yildirim
Demiroren.
Former Besiktas chairman Demiroren was elected as TFF
chairman last month with the task of quickly resolving the
match-fixing crisis. Sanctions against clubs involved could
include relegation or the deduction of points.
Fenerbahce Chairman Aziz Yildirim, who is accused of being a
gang leader, has denied the match-fixing charges, saying the
allegations against him were specifically designed to undermine
the 18-times domestic champions.
UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino was scheduled to
hold a news conference on Wednesday after the Executive
Committee meeting.