Adana Demirspor’s fall has taken another brutal turn, with FIFA imposing a further 12-point deduction that effectively seals the club’s second straight relegation and leaves one of Türkiye’s proud provincial sides staring into an uncertain future.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee sanctioned the TFF 1. Lig club over two separate cases involving overdue payables, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) confirmed on Monday, 2026.
The rulings were processed under FIFA Clearing House procedures, which monitor solidarity payments, training compensation and outstanding transfer-related debts.
Under FIFA regulations, each unresolved file typically carries a six-point deduction once clubs fail to settle notified amounts after repeated warnings. If debts remain unpaid, sanctions escalate to transfer bans.
In Adana Demirspor’s case, both penalties were applied, adding 12 more points to a season already defined by sanctions.
Story-telling table
The latest punishment drops the club to minus 45 points. After 27 matches in the 2025-26 TFF 1. Lig season, Adana Demirspor sit 20th and last in the 20-team table with no wins, three draws and 24 defeats.
They have scored 16 goals and conceded 120, a staggering goal difference of minus 104.
Even a flawless finish to the campaign would not be enough to survive. Relegation to the TFF 2. Lig is now a mathematical certainty.
Financial freefall
The scale of the collapse is striking.
Adana Demirspor ended a 26-year absence from the top flight when they won promotion in 2020-21.
Two seasons later, under Vincenzo Montella, they finished fourth in the Süper Lig and qualified for Europe for the first time in club history.
The Mediterranean side, founded in 1940 and backed by one of Türkiye’s most passionate fan bases, appeared to have built a sustainable platform.
Instead, mounting debts reversed the trajectory.
In January 2024, FIFA imposed a transfer ban covering three consecutive windows over unpaid obligations.
Key players departed, reinforcements were blocked and the squad weakened. The club survived the 2023-24 campaign, finishing 12th, but the reprieve was brief.
The 2024-25 season unraveled quickly. Still under transfer restrictions, the team relied heavily on youth players and loans. Relegation was confirmed on March 16, 2025, with 10 matchdays remaining, an early and sobering verdict on the widening crisis.
Domestic turmoil
Financial sanctions were compounded by disciplinary trouble at home.
In February 2025, during a heated Süper Lig clash against Galatasaray, Adana Demirspor players walked off the pitch in protest after a penalty was awarded following an incident involving Alvaro Morata.
The federation ruled the match a 3-0 forfeit defeat and handed the club an additional three-point deduction.
Chairman Murat Sancak received a 30-day ban and a TL 500,000 fine, adding administrative strain to sporting collapse.
Sanctions stack up
Relegation did not halt the slide.
Throughout the 2025-26 season in the second division, FIFA continued to issue six-point deductions tied to unresolved Clearing House cases.
Multiple files related to unpaid salaries, agent commissions and inter-club transfer obligations pushed the club into negative territory long before this latest ruling.
The transfer ban remains in place until all outstanding amounts are cleared, leaving the squad unable to strengthen and increasingly uncompetitive.
Heavy defeats, including multiple five-goal losses, have become routine. Attendances and morale have dipped accordingly.
As of Tuesday, no appeal or confirmed settlement has been announced.
The focus now shifts to limiting further damage and preparing for life in the third tier, where financial scrutiny and licensing requirements could present new hurdles.
Sancak has repeatedly cited debts inherited from previous administrations, yet FIFA’s enforcement framework leaves little flexibility once deadlines are missed.