ISTANBUL, March 15: Turkish prosecutors on Friday filed bribery charges against a top soccer referee and 10 others in a match-fixing scandal that could shake up the country’s top division.

The state-run Anatolian news agency said Istanbul prosecutors had completed a charge sheet against the 11 accused, who include a businessman wanted in Turkey for involvement in a security scandal which exposed links between state officials and organised crime.

The private NTV news channel said the charges also included bribery.

Prosecutors have been interviewing referees and other people since last month when allegations surfaced that some matches in Turkey had been fixed. The matches concerned include games from the top division down to lower leagues over a number of years.

Turkey’s football federation is watching the case closely, aware that allegations of match-fixing could cast doubts over the winners of the league title and could lead relegated clubs to appeal.

Earlier this month, federation head Haluk Ulusoy said he had full confidence in his referees and would not allow a few bad apples to stain the reputation of Turkish soccer.—Reuters