Nov. 11 (UPI) -- The Turkish Football Federation suspended 1,024 soccer players identified through a widespread gambling probe, officials announced Tuesday.
Players from Galatasaray and Besiktas, in addition to hundreds more from lower tier clubs within the Turkish soccer system, were identified for alleged involvement in the scandals. Officials moved to postpone third- and fourth-tier matches for two weeks, while allowing first- and second-tier games to continue.
Eren Elmali, a Galatasaray defender, was puled off Turkey's national team ahead of World Cup qualifiers. Metehan Baltaci, Elmali's Galatasaray teammate, also was listed among the players suspended. Besiktas teammates Ersin Destanoglu and Necip Uysal were also named.
The federation refereed those identified to the Turkish Professional Football Disciplinary Board. Besiktas said they had "full faith" that Destanoglu and Uysal would be cleared. Galatasaray said they would monitor the process.
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