Aziz Yildirim didn't just run Fenerbahçe. According to an Istanbul court, he ran a criminal gang that rigged games, bribed players, and used a farming-based code to talk about it all — because football at that level isn't just sport. It's a revenue stream, and he intended to protect it.
In July 2012, Istanbul's 16th Heavy Penal Court convicted the Fenerbahçe chairman of forming and leading a criminal organisation that fixed four matches outright and attempted to fix three others. The motive was ruthlessly simple: stay in the UEFA Champions League, a competition the club valued at $58.5 million per year.
Wiretaps, fake transfers, and a Mini Cooper
Turkish police collected 1,028 wiretaps across 13 games under investigation, 103 of them directly tied to Yildirim. What they found was elaborate. Officials discussed match-fixing using agricultural code: "buildings under construction" meant games being fixed, "goats in the field" were players, and "crops being watered" referred to payments. Prosecutors pointed out, with some dry precision, that the farming terminology used by these city-dwelling officials rarely matched actual agricultural seasons.
The payments were real. A $100,000 transfer fee was paid for midfielder Gokdeniz Karadeniz, who never played a single game for the club. Nigerian striker Emanuel Emenike's manager was allegedly contacted to ensure he sat out a spring 2011 match against Fenerbahçe — Emenike then transferred to the club, also never played, and moved to Russia. Player Ibrahim Akin was paid $129,300 to throw a game and was convicted. Fenerbahçe aide Abdullah Basak received a Mini Cooper for arranging meetings with officials from rival clubs and was sentenced to 2½ years for match-fixing.
All of this happened against a backdrop of genuine sporting pressure. Fenerbahçe had blown league titles in their final games in two consecutive seasons. Then, in spring 2011, they won 16 of their last 17 matches to climb from third place and qualify for the Champions League. Prosecutors argued that sequence didn't happen by accident.
What Yildirim said — and what the court decided
Yildirim denied everything, and he didn't do it quietly. He called the trial a plot to "block Fenerbahçe and prevent its rise." He questioned why police initially flagged 19 suspect games but only pursued 13 in the indictment — "Six games vaporized?" He argued that wiretaps showing him requesting specific referees were just normal club business, not corruption.
The court wasn't persuaded. He was sentenced to six years and three months in prison. He served one year before being released pending appeal.
Fenerbahçe were banned from the following season's Champions League — directly costing them the revenue Yildirim had tried so hard to protect. UEFA later confirmed the club's eligibility to return, subject to a disciplinary ruling. The Turkish Football Federation, under new leadership after its chief resigned, cleared all clubs named in the indictment and banned just two players over a single match. The contrast with the criminal court's findings is stark.
- Yildirim sentenced to 6 years and 3 months, released pending appeal
- Three other Fenerbahçe officials convicted alongside him
- Officials from five other clubs also found guilty
- Fenerbahçe's $58.5 million damages claim against UEFA was later dropped
If Yildirim's appeal fails, he goes back to prison and loses the chairmanship he has held since 1998. A man who turned Fenerbahçe into one of the world's 20 wealthiest clubs, who built a 52,000-seat stadium with outdoor heating, whose name was as recognisable in Turkey as the prime minister's — brought down by wiretaps discussing goats and crops.
