The honest and fair conduct of sports competitions forms the basis of the spirit and ethical values ​​of sports. For this reason, crimes such as match-fixing and incentive bonuses harm the essence of sports and create great injustice to both athletes and fans. In order to combat such crimes and protect the justice of sports, deterrent sanctions are foreseen in the Turkish Penal Code and other relevant legislation.
What is Match-fixing and Incentive Crime?
The crime of match-fixing refers to the act of providing benefits to someone else in order to unlawfully influence the outcome of a sports competition. This benefit may be material or spiritual. Incentive bonus crime refers to the act of giving money or other benefit to an athlete or team in order to achieve a certain result in a sports competition.
Match-fixing and Incentive Crime Sanctions
The sanctions foreseen for match-fixing and incentive bonus crimes in Article 11 of the Law No. 6222 on the Prevention of Violence and Disorder in Sports are as follows:
Imprisonment: Imprisonment from one to three years
Judicial Fine: Judicial fine up to twenty thousand days
Aggravating Circumstances of the Crime
In addition to the penalties mentioned above, some aggravating circumstances are also prescribed depending on the way the crime was committed and the intent of the perpetrator. Some of these situations are:
The crime is committed by more than one person
Committing the crime in an organized manner
Crime committed by professional athletes
The crime caused a great public repercussion as a result
Sanctions on Sports Clubs
If match-fixing and incentive bonus crimes are committed for the benefit of a sports club or other legal entity, an administrative fine may be imposed in addition to the above penalties. This administrative fine may be as much as match-fixing or incentive bonus amount, not less than one hundred thousand Turkish Liras.
Sports Disciplinary Instruction Sanctions
In addition, the sanctions specified in the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Football Disciplinary Instruction may be applied to athletes and sports clubs due to match-fixing and incentive bonus crimes. These sanctions include relegation from the league, deletion of points, fines and license cancellation.