Fenerbahce rants on match-fixing accusations

Turkish Fenerbahce chairman Aziz Yildirim refuted charges that he ordered a fix in a 2000-2001 finale between Samsunspor and Fenerbahce.

Another accusation is that Trabzonspor players were offered incentives in their match against Galatasaray.

The storm resulted from tape recordings of phone conversations with some players and coaches presented by Cihan Oskay as evidence to back his claims.

"This should be the beginning of a new era," Yildirim said. "The allegations must be investigated by state prosecutors and by the government, not by the federation, because the federation is behind this conspiracy. Some TFF (Turkish Football Federation) board members listened to recordings of the telephone calls in Germany two months ago. Why did they wait for two months?"

The TFF countered Yildirim at another press conference a couple hours later. TFF Vice-Chief Kemal Kapulluoglu said they would launch disciplinary action against the Fenerbahçe chairman, and he would be held accountable for "baseless accusations" against board members.

During his rant, Yildirim openly targeted TFF Chief Haluk Ulusoy and board member Tahir Kiran.

Kapulluoglu said Fenerbahçe had applied to the federation six days ago, demanding an investigation into the accusations. But Kapulluoglu said Yildirim's rant pointed the finger at the TFF, contradicting the club's request for TFF assistance.

"Yildirim is saying, 'Don't allow the federation to conduct this investigation because they are involved in this [scandal].' We wonder what has caused this change of heart," Kapulluoglu said. "We will investigate both the match-fixing allegations and Yildirim's comments and hope to announce our decision soon."

Oskay reiterated his claims publicly for the first time on a TV report. Yildirim said it was aired on the request of a senior official, who is a close friend of the program's producer. Yildirim did not identify either the person or the organization.

"Oskay demanded money from another channel to appear on TV, but he was turned down," Yildirim said. "A senior official phoned his close friend Serhat Ulueren -- Star TV's Telegol producer -- to broadcast the allegations, and they did a one-sided show without contacting me or seeking my views."

Yildirim also said accuser Oskay should be put under protection by the state, fearing someone might harm him and the blame placed on Yildirim.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.