Ferhat Gündoğdu and Turkey’s Central Referee Committee
29 September 2026
Ferhat Gündoğdu, head of Turkey’s Central Referee Committee, has been arrested alongside six other suspects in an investigation involving allegations of harassment, document forgery and interference with the selection and appointment of referees.
Prosecutors are examining referee and observer lists from 2022 to 2024 and whether officials were unfairly excluded or favoured. Investigators also recovered WhatsApp conversations discussing referee lists as part of operations conducted across several Turkish cities.