ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s prime minister says individuals rather than clubs should be punished for match-fixing.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments came during his opening speech at UEFA’s annual congress, gathering 53 member associations in Istanbul on Thursday.
Erdogan said punishments should be limited to the perpetrators, arguing that “crimes are personal.”
Turkish soccer has been plagued by a match-fixing scandal, allegedly involving more than a dozen games last season. Fenerbahce President Aziz Yildirim and 92 other people are on trial accused of fixing games.
UEFA barred Fenerbahce from the Champions League, but the Turkish federation has yet to make a decision on other possible sanctions.
UEFA is pressing Turkey to “rapidly” take action against implicated clubs.
