Tag: Fenerbahce

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.

Fenerbahce's Alex De Souza celebrates after scoring against the club's Istanbul rivals Besiktas in February

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.”

FIFA to meet with Interpol in match-fixing investigation

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.

July 5, 2011
US Consulate General flies the Fenerbahçe flag

A large flag of Spor Toto Super League 2010-2011 champion Fenerbahçe has been hung on a wall of the US Consulate General in İstanbul’s İstinye neighborhood.

The championship celebrations have yet to end for Fenerbahçe fans, who have been celebrating since Sunday. After the city’s scenic Bosporus was illuminated by the team’s colors — yellow and dark blue — the US Consulate General also revealed its delight over Fenerbahçe’s league title by hanging a Fenerbahçe flag from a wall on the western side of the building.

It is tradition for the consulate general to display the flags of İstanbul’s three biggest teams — Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş — when they win the football division title.

via zaman

May 29, 2011
‘Tougher’ Diana Taurasi back in WNBA after Turkish turmoil – USATODAY.com

PHOENIX (AP) — Diana Taurasi says she is a tougher person for her experience with the doping authorities in Turkey and doesn’t worry that the situation there will affect her reputation.

* Diana Taurasi called the period between learning about the positive drug test and being cleared “one of the most stressful times in my life.”

By Eric Gay, AP

Diana Taurasi called the period between learning about the positive drug test and being cleared “one of the most stressful times in my life.”

“The only thing I’m guilty of,” she said, “is putting a lot of hours in the gym, and I’ve been doing that since I was a little kid.”

The two-time Olympic gold medalist, 2009 WNBA most valuable player and former college basketball player of the year spoke Monday at the Phoenix Mercury media day.

Late last year, while playing professional basketball in Turkey, Taurasi was told by authorities there she had tested positive for the banned stimulant modafanil. In February, the Turkish basketball federation cleared her of wrongdoing after the lab that conducted the test retracted its report.

“It toughens you up,” she said of the experience, “and life’s about going through stuff that is really hard. You can let it really wreck you and you can be mad at it, which I was for a while. But I finally got over it, had a really good group of people around me here in Phoenix, my family, my close friends, my teammates, the fans here in Phoenix. You really sometimes have to depend on those people to get you through tough times and they did. They got me through it.”

Taurasi said she has no concerns about her reputation being sullied.

“Because I know I never took it,” she said.

via ‘Tougher’ Diana Taurasi back in WNBA after Turkish turmoil – USATODAY.com.

May 24, 2011