Fenerbahce at center of Turkish match-fixing probe

(CNN) — The president of Turkish football champions Fenerbahce has been arrested as part of a nationwide investigation into match-fixing.

Aziz Yildirim was among three club presidents to be detained during a raid on 12 provinces which began on Sunday and concluded on Monday, according to the Anatolia News Agency.

Fenerbahce vice-president Sekip Mosturoglu and the club’s new signings Sezer Ozturk and Emmanuel Emenike were also taken into custody, along with more than 50 others including former player and current staff member Cemil Turan.

“Club president Aziz Yildirim was detained in a probe into match-fixing allegations in the Turkish football league,” read a statement on the Fenerbahce website.

Fenerbahce Sports Club has never been and will never be engaged in any unlawful and illegal activity

–Fenerbahce club statement

“We would like to stress our trust in our legal system once again, wishing that the truth will come on as soon as possible. Everyone should know that Fenerbahce Sports Club has never been and will never be engaged in any unlawful and illegal activity. We are proud of our clean and victorious past.”

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Yildirim, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, was taken to hospital for tests after falling ill on Monday before being returned to police custody, the Hurriyet Daily News website reported.

Turkey’s ruling party, the AKP, said the arrests were part of its battle against criminal organizations.

“This shows that Turkey is quickly moving toward becoming a real state of law,” Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said.

Also detained in the operation were Sivasspor’s president Mecnun Odyakmaz, Giresunspor president Omer Ulku and former president Olgun Peker, Diyarbakirspor’s former president Abdurrahman Yakut and Mersin Idmanyurdu vice-president Besir Acar.

Fenerbahce won a record 18th league championship last season on goal difference from Trabzonspor after both teams finished on 82 points.

The club’s win over Sivasspor in the final week is among the matches being investigated, as well as the game against Eskisehirspor.

Last month the Turkish football federation handed out lifetime bans to 11 people after finding that 17 domestic games were manipulated between 2008 and 2010, while another 23 were suspended for between six months and three years.

via Fenerbahce at center of Turkish match-fixing probe – CNN.com.