Arrests in Turkish match-fixing probe

About 30 people have been arrested in a match-fixing investigation in Turkey, including the president of champions Fenerbahce.

Aziz Yildirim, the president of the 2010/11 Turkish Super Lig champions, his vice-president and Trabzonspor’s vice-president, are all being held.

Fenerbahce official Yuksel Gunay questioned the investigation on Sunday.

“This is really ugly. I am not afraid to say that Turkey is becoming a police state, this is very ugly,” he said.

“What kind of match-fixing could have happened that they are investigating now?”

According to Turkish TV channel NTV, police are investigating games that occurred during the last league season.

Fenerbahce’s 4-3 win over Sivasspor is one of the matches in question, according to the Associated Press, who quoted the Dogan news agency.

State-run news agency Anatolia said two Turkey internationals, goalkeeper Serdar Kulbilge and midfielder Serkan Calik, had also been arrested.

Police are reported to be searching Fenerbahce’s headquarters in Istanbul.