Fenerbahçe president Sadettin Saran was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison on Thursday by an Istanbul court in a case involving allegations of promoting illegal betting through football broadcast content, a ruling that also covers his brother and deepens an already complex legal dispute surrounding the media executive and club leader.
The decision was handed down by the Istanbul 23rd Criminal Court of First Instance following a trial in which prosecutors accused Saran and his brother, Alan Kenan Saran, of facilitating and promoting unauthorized sports betting advertisements through televised match coverage distributed via the S SPORT streaming platform.
The court also imposed a TL 562,500 ($12,235)judicial fine on both men.
Judges ruled that the defendants were guilty of encouraging participation in betting and gambling tied to sporting events, specifically through advertising practices embedded in match broadcasts.
Two additional defendants in the case, Emre Eren and Azade Zeynep Haksal, were acquitted.
The case centered on allegations that illegal betting advertisements were displayed during football matches through both physical and digital means.
Prosecutors said the ads appeared on stadium perimeter boards and as virtual overlays placed behind goals, arguing that the broadcasts reached large audiences and effectively normalized betting behavior across a broad viewer base.
In the indictment, prosecutors relied in part on findings requested from Türkiye’s broadcasting regulator RTÜK, which reviewed match transmissions aired in 2023 under Saran Internet Television Broadcasting Inc.
The findings concluded that unauthorized betting promotions were present in streamed football content and were not properly licensed under Turkish regulations governing gambling advertisements.
Prosecutors further argued that such content carried significant social impact due to its reach, describing widespread betting promotion in sports broadcasts as harmful and influential, particularly among younger audiences.
The indictment referred to betting content as having a "digital drug” effect, reflecting concerns over its accessibility and normalization through mainstream sports coverage.
The prosecution also argued that responsibility extended beyond operational staff to senior executives who had oversight of programming decisions.
It said that company leaders who had knowledge of and approved broadcasts containing illegal advertising could be held jointly liable for the content distributed under their authority.
Saran and his co-defendants denied the allegations throughout the proceedings and requested acquittal at the final hearing.
Their defense team argued that the charges were unfounded and sought dismissal of the case.
Prosecutors had initially sought prison sentences ranging from one to five years depending on each defendant’s level of involvement and whether the conduct was repeated.
The ruling increases legal pressure on the media executive, whose brief tenure at Fenerbahçe has already faced scrutiny, including earlier allegations a few months ago linked to narcotics use and possession.