A Turkish football referee and a referee observer have been suspended for life by their country’s federation for alleged sexual relations.
Sex scandal in Turkish arbitration. Referee Elif Karaarslan (24) was suspended for life after allegedly having sexual relations with referee observer Orhan Erdemir (61). The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) reportedly imposed the sanction after viewing a sex tape of the antics between the young woman and the man almost three times her age. Former football player with Besiktas, Elif Karaarslan converted to refereeing after an injury.
The referee denies being the person in the video and denounces the nepotism of Turkish leaders
She said she intended to appeal this sanction, ensuring that she was not the person appearing in the film. “I will have a long road ahead legally, but I will get through this in the strongest and most robust way,” she said. “I hope you will give me all your support and love in this process. Crying, screaming and being sad are not things I would do. It’s not me. I will fight my case to the end. I’m just one of many people who are hurt, I hope I’m the last.”
Three days ago, she posted a long message on her Instagram account, followed by 384,000 people, denouncing “the nepotism” of Turkish leaders.
In his defense, Orhan Erdemir simply explained that the video had circulated without his permission, while conceding that his career was over. “My honor in my family, my social circle and the community of referees has been swept away. In addition to my financial losses, the emotional damage I have suffered is indescribable,” lamented this former Fifa referee between 1999 and 2002, before to become an observer of his fellow referees.
