A court has ruled for the release of Fenerbahçe midfielder Mert Hakan Yandaş from pre-trial detention as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged illegal betting and match-fixing in Turkish football.
Yandaş, who had been held for nearly four months since his arrest on Dec. 9, appeared before the court on April 3.
In his defense, Yandaş denied all allegations, stating he had no membership with betting platforms and describing the case as a reputational attack.
“Would someone who has been a top taxpayer fix matches for a few thousand liras?” he told the court. “I don’t know how I became part of this file.”
The investigation centers on allegations of illegal betting activity and match manipulation.
According to the indictment, authorities identified past betting activity linked to Yandaş dating back to 2017.
Financial crime reports also pointed to frequent money transfers between Yandaş and co-suspect Ersen Dikmen. Some of these funds were allegedly routed to betting sites shortly after being transferred.
Yandaş noted that financial transactions between himself and Dikmen were based on a long-standing personal relationship, insisting he had no knowledge of how the money was later used. Dikmen was also released on April 3.
Prosecutors are seeking prison sentences ranging from 4 to 13 years on charges including fraud and match-fixing incentives for both.
Several players appeared at the courthouse in support of Yandaş, including Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Cenk Tosun and Metehan Baltacı of Galatasaray, who had also been detained in connection with the same investigation but was released last week.
Fenerbahçe club president Sadettin Saran also attended the hearing.
