Fenerbahçe Sports Club President and businessman Sadettin Saran appeared before a judge Thursday in an illegal betting advertising case that could carry a prison sentence of up to three years, as authorities pursue broader investigations into organized crime in Turkish sports that also include a separate narcotics probe.
The hearing at the Istanbul 23rd Criminal Court of First Instance marked Saran’s first court appearance in the betting case, which prosecutors say centers on illegal gambling advertisements that appeared during football matches broadcast on the S Sport platform.
Officials stressed that while the betting case is part of a wider crackdown that has also uncovered narcotics-related investigations in the sports sector, the narcotics probe is legally distinct and does not form part of the charges against Saran in this trial.
Saran, the founder and honorary chairman of Saran Holding, firmly denied the allegations, arguing that broadcasters have neither the technical capacity nor the legal authority to intervene in live international feeds where stadium advertising is controlled by foreign leagues.
“We have absolutely no activity that encourages illegal betting,” Saran told the court. “The advertisements being discussed are inside the stadium. We receive the broadcast as it is. Technically, it is not possible to interfere.”
The indictment, prepared on March 4, 2025, by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Investigation Bureau, seeks prison sentences of one to three years and judicial fines of up to 3,000 days for Saran and three other executives.
They are accused of advertising illegal betting platforms during football matches aired on S Sport in 2023.
Also on trial are Saran’s brother and S Sport board member Kenan Saran, S Sport General Manager Emre Eren, and Saran Holding CEO Azade Zeynep Haksal. All attended the hearing with their lawyers.
The session, originally scheduled for 11:00 a.m., began at 1:30 p.m.
Saran told the court his monthly income was TL 5 million ($115,300) before outlining Saran Holding’s sports broadcasting operations, which include domestic and international competitions licensed from foreign rights holders.
Prosecutors say the disputed broadcasts involved foreign leagues, primarily from Spain and Italy, where betting companies legal in those jurisdictions but illegal in Türkiye appeared on LED advertising boards inside stadiums and were visible during live coverage.
When asked by the presiding judge whether broadcasters could locally intervene in such feeds, Saran said any attempt to alter the signal would severely degrade the broadcast.
“This is a very complicated situation,” he said. “If you interfere with the feed, the signal quality collapses. It becomes unwatchable.”
Questioned about blurring advertisements, Saran said the technology would affect the entire playing area.
“If you blur, you blur everything,” he said. “The players, the goal, the ball , the match disappears.”
Saran said his company objected to the advertisements before prosecutors launched their investigation, requesting “clean feeds” from foreign broadcasters and warning them about Türkiye’s strict gambling laws.
He said those concerns were raised directly with international football authorities, including UEFA.
“We were the first broadcasters to oppose this,” Saran said. “We didn’t normalize it, even though it exposed us to financial penalties. I value my reputation. It goes against the normal course of life for me to commit such a crime.”
Kenan Saran told the court that advertising rights inside stadiums belong exclusively to host leagues or national federations, not to broadcasters purchasing match rights.
“Our contracts cover only the right to broadcast the match,” he said. “Advertising is not within our control.”
Haksal echoed that argument, stressing that broadcasting and advertising rights are legally and technically separate, and that expert opinions already submitted support the defense’s position.
She added that S Sport halted certain broadcasts after administrative penalties were imposed, even though the alleged violations occurred months earlier.
Beyond the betting case, prosecutors noted that Turkish authorities are pursuing parallel investigations into organized crime networks linked to illegal betting and narcotics trafficking in football, a development that has heightened scrutiny of sports broadcasting, sponsorships and financial flows across the sector.
Officials emphasized that these probes are being handled separately and involve different suspects and evidence.
After hearing testimony, the court ordered an expert panel to determine whether the footage received by S Sport was raw, whether technical manipulation of the broadcast was feasible, and whether alternative feeds were available. The hearing was adjourned until June 4.
The expert report is expected to play a central role in determining whether broadcasters can be held criminally liable for betting advertisements embedded in foreign live feeds.
