Turkish football body fires 105 staff following coup attempt

Turkey's football federation (TFF) has sacked 105 staff, including some referees, two days after officials at the organisation quit as part of a probe into last month's failed coup attempt. The federation said in a statement on Tuesday that it had severed ties with 94 people including referees, linesmen and national and regional observers while also ending its relationship with 11 other representatives.

"Our federation deemed it necessary to dismiss 94 people, including regional and nationally ranked referees and assistant referees, regional refereeing committee members and national and regional observers," TFF said in a statement.

The statement gave no details on the members that had been fired but a source close to the TFF told Turkish-footbal.com that there were referees and members of the disciplinary committee in charge of issues punishments to players and clubs involved.

Those fired are believed to be linked in some way to the U.S.-based retired preacher Fethullah Gülen whose Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO) has been accused of being the mastermind behind the failed coup. Fenerbahçe claim that the same group was responsible for setting the club up during the match-fixing trial. Yellow Canaries President Aziz Yıldırım served jail time and the club were not allowed to compete in the Champions League as a result of the trials. The case was later dismissed by the court of appeals and most of the prosecutors leading the trial have been arrested themselves in conjunction with being linked to Gülen's organizations. The league campaign and international matches will go ahead according to schedule despite the latest incidents according to the TFF president Yıldırım Demirören.