Fenerbahçe chairman acquitted on all charges in match-fixing case

Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Y?ld?r?m has been acquitted on all charges in Turkey's massive match-fixing case.

An Istanbul prosecutor demanded on Oct. 5 the acquittal of high-profile suspects, including Y?ld?r?m. The Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court issued its unanomious ruling on Oct. 9, acquitting Y?ld?r?m, as well as other high-profile suspects, including Olgun Peker, ?ekip Mosturo?lu, Cemil Turan, ?lhan Ek?io?lu, Mecnun Odyakmaz, Bülent Uygun, ?brahim Ak?n, Ümit Karan and Gökçek Vederson.

On June 23, the court ordered a retrial of several convicted suspects, including Y?ld?r?m, in the July 2011 match-fixing case, which shook Turkey?s football scene.

Y?ld?r?m was first sentenced to jail in 2012 and fined 1.3 million Turkish Liras ($560,000) for forming a criminal gang and match-fixing during the 2010-2011 season. He served around one year behind bars before being freed pending a retrial.

Fenerbahçe was banned for two seasons from European competition by UEFA due to the charges.

The court agreed to retry the suspects on the charges of being a member of a criminal organization, but it rejected Y?ld?r?m?s demand for a retrial on the grounds that the investigation was part of a ?plot? against the convicted suspects.

The convicted suspects were able to file appeal after the Specially Authorized Courts, which oversaw the match-fixing case among others, were abolished in March 2013.

Prosecutor Co?kun pleaded for a retrial, arguing that Y?ld?r?m had been mistakenly accused regarding some of the charges, while other charges were exaggerated compared to the information in the investigation files.

The match-fixing probe was originally launched by Zekeriya Öz, one of the prosecutors involved in the December...