Eight suspects released in Turkey match-fixing case

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -- A Turkish court freed eight suspects in a major match-fixing case on Monday, including the coach and an executive of Besiktas, media reported, giving a boost to soccer club shares which have been hit hard by the investigation.

Besiktas coach Tayfur Havutcu, executive Serdal Adali and the other six were released from custody pending trial, media reports said. Twenty-three suspects remain in custody.

Shares in Besiktas surged 10.7 percent on the news, while Fenerbahce rose 5.6 percent. Shares in Galatasaray, who are not named in the match-fixing indictment, jumped 8.4 percent.

The Turkish parliament passed a law at the weekend reducing prison sentences for match-rigging from a maximum 12 years to three years, defying a call from President Abdullah Gul for MPs to revise a law which he vetoed earlier this month.

Gul, who is now obliged to approve the legislation, had said the new law did not represent a sufficient deterrent and had encouraged the view that it was passed to benefit certain individuals.

A total of 93 soccer officials and players, including the chairman of champions Fenerbahce, Aziz Yildirim, are set to go on trial in the investigation, according to the indictment which the court accepted last week.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has said it will act quickly in taking measures concerning individuals named in the case but it will not act against clubs until the season is over. It barred Fenerbahce from this season's Champions League when the allegations first surfaced.

Among the defendants is a TFF deputy chairman, Goksel Gumusdag. European football's ruling body UEFA has yet to comment on the latest developments in the case.

The first hearing is set for Feb. 14.

Olgun Peker, an ex-president of club Giresunspor, and Yildirim are accused of being gang leaders among a raft of charges ranging from match-fixing to the payment of bribes.

The indictment names eight clubs, including Fenerbahce, Besiktas and Trabzonspor, who are currently in the Europa League after replacing Fenerbahce in this season's Champions League. Fourteen players are among the defendants.

The investigation alleged manipulation in 19 matches, including Fenerbahce's 4-3 victory over Sivasspor which won the league championship on the final day of last season.