Huge soccer match-fixing trial begins in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey — Thousands of soccer fans shouted slogans outside a Turkish courthouse Tuesday in support of 93 suspects, including the jailed president of the country's top soccer team, who went on trial in a massive match-fixing scandal.

Aziz Yildirim, president of the celebrated Fenerbahce soccer team, and other suspects have been charged in the scandal allegedly involving 19 league matches last season.

Fenerbahce, the champion of the Turkish league, was barred from the Champions League — the biggest, most lucrative international soccer tournament — because of its involvement in the match-fixing scandal. The team could be stripped of its domestic title, tossed out of the top flight and forced to play in a lower soccer league, penalties that could cost the club millions.

"The government might collapse, (chronic) inflation might go down but Fenerbahce can never be relegated!" Fenerbahce fans shouted outside the courthouse in Silivri, a town near Istanbul.

Match-fixing scandals last year tarnished leagues in Turkey, Italy, Israel, Finland and Greece even though UEFA, the governing body for European soccer, spent millions to monitor betting and investigate cases in which players and referees were allegedly bribed. Match-fixing scandals were also reported in Africa and Asia.

Match-fixing can generate enormous profits and according to Interpol has often involved Asian crime syndicates. FIFA, the world soccer body, estimates that fixers make between $5 billion and $15 billion in profits each year from manipulating matches across all sports, which attract $500 billion in wagers with legal and unlicensed operators.

The head of the Turkish Football Federation and two of his deputies resigned last month following a controversy on how to deal with teams implicated in the match-fixing scandal, which has implicated officials or players from at least eight Turkish clubs.

Yildirim, who has denied any wrongdoing, is accused of establishing a crime ring and match-fixing, according to the indictment which includes records of wiretapped conversations between the suspects who allegedly exchanged encoded messages.

He faces a maximum of 72 years in prison if found guilty. Prosecutors accuse Yildirim of attempting to manipulate 13 league games, mostly in the second half of the season, to edge Fenerbahce past then-leader Trabzonspor in the league standings.