A man stuck between his job and fandom, Turkish Football Federation chairman Aydinlar with Fenerbahce jersey on

Turkish Football Federation (TFF) president Mehmet Ali Aydınlar is defies the call of Turkish Union of Clubs to withdraw peanlty of relegation to in the match-fixing involved teams.

Istanbul / NationalTurk – TFF Chairman Mehmet Ali Aydınlar rules out withdrawal on relegation punishments for the teams in the match fixing investigation. The president says the 58th article of the Disciplinary Code will not be changed despite calls from clubs’ chairmen. The union of clubs, led by various club chairmen has been claiming ‘clubs should not be punished’ due to officials’ faults.

The 58th article of the Disciplinary Code of the TFF, which states “any team involved in match fixing will be relegated,” will not be changed, Aydınlar stated on the television show “Telegol” on Kanaltürk Tv channel in Turkey.
“I say it clearly, the code will not be changed,” Aydınlar underlined Dec. 19. “The 58th article will not be changed as long as I am here.”

Mehmet Ali Aydınlar was also asked a request of non relegation by Fenerbahçe board member Murat Özaydınlı, which he answered : “We were just having a conversation there [ with Fenerbahce executive Özaydinli] What do we do? Wouldn’t we relegate a team just because [Özaydınlı] told us not to?” Aydınlar said. “Did I say ‘OK’ to him? No, I didn’t.”

The idea of ‘ clubs should not be punished due to individuals’ faults’ won’t save match rigging clubs

TFF chairmen’s statement came amid controversy following a Union of Clubs call to reconsider match-fixing laws. The union, which is formed by the chairmen of the 18 football clubs in the Turkish Super league, the top flight in Turkish Football, said “clubs should not be punished due to individuals’ faults.”

A total of 93 football club officials, players and coaches are suspects as part of the match-fixing case and several teams, including defending Spor Toto Super League champion Fenerbahçe, runner-up Trabzonspor, Turkish Cup winner Beşiktaş, along with Istanbul BB, Eskişehirspor, Mersin İdman Yurdu and Sivasspor, are listed as teams allegedly involved in match-fixing. Turkish cup winners Besiktas manager Tayfur Havutçu and vice president Serdar adali had been released last week from prison pending charges in the match-fixing case.

Turkish Broadcaster of Super League football demands compensation for match fixing revenue drop

The TFF chairman was also defiant on a call from Digiturk, saying the broadcaster’s demand for compensation for the losses during the match fixing case was “unacceptable.”

Earlier this week, Digiturk, Turkey’s biggest digital broadcaster and the official holder of the Spor Toto broadcasting rights, reportedly started seeking compensation from the county’s football governing body and clubs for losses allegedly incurred from the match fixing investigation into alleged match fixing.

The digital bradcasting company, controlled by Cukurova Holding, was in talks with the TFF over losses it put at over $100 million. The greedy broadcaster may apply to the courts to lower the broadcast fee it pays the federation if there is no agreement, it said.

“It is impossible to accept their demand,” Aydınlar said. “Digiturk is our most important business partner. They say they will take it to court, but I think they have no chance.”

Digiturk agreed last year to pay $424 million a year, including taxes and fees, over four years for broadcast rights to matches in the Turkish Super league.

Subscription revenue has dropped since police began an investigation into  match fixing scandal , adding to costs caused by the fall in the value of the Turkish Lira against the US Dollar, Digitürk states.