Galatasaray, Turkey’s most storied football club, faces a perfect storm of financial crisis, criminal investigations, and administrative collapse that threatens its standing as a European powerhouse.
It is facing a war on three separate fronts.
First, in November, the Turkish Football Federation’s “Clean Hands” operation suspended two of the club’s key defenders for betting violations, part of a purge affecting over 1,000 players nationwide.
Second, the club is defending itself against criminal charges related to a $14 million sponsorship deal with an illegal gambling operator.
Third, investigations into a black-market ticket scheme suggest €56 million in annual revenue has been siphoned by Galatsaray insiders and “ultra” fan networks.
Together, these crises have exposed a very worrying pattern of systemic governance failures at the club.
The Sports and Crime Briefing explains all the legal scandals facing Galatasaray.
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