Fenerbahçe Chairman Sentenced to Two and a Half Years in Prison for Promoting Illegal Betting

^{Pictured: Sadettin Saran, chairman of Fenerbahçe}

Sadettin Saran, chairman of Turkish football club Fenerbahçe, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for inciting illegal betting, Reuters reported.

A court in Istanbul found Saran and his brother, Kenan Saran, guilty of encouraging people to engage in illegal betting through advertising and other promotional activity.

In addition to the prison sentence, each was fined 562,500 Turkish lira, equivalent to about $12,000.

The case is not connected to Fenerbahçe matches, but to Saran’s media business. The authorities’ allegations concerned broadcasts of football matches on S Sport, a platform owned by Saran Holding, during which advertisements for betting sites not licensed in Turkey appeared on screen.

The defence argued that the advertisements had not been deliberately placed by the broadcaster, but were shown on stadium LED boards and captured as part of the international broadcast feed.

According to the defence, the Turkish broadcaster received the footage in its final form and could not fully control such elements without affecting the match coverage.

The court rejected those arguments, finding that the display of such material during broadcasts could still be regarded as the promotion of illegal betting.

The ruling was issued by a court of first instance and may still be appealed.