Fenerbahçe president announces end-of-season election after detention in drug case

Fenerbahçe Sports Club President Sadettin Saran said the club will hold an extraordinary election meeting at the end of the 2025-2026 football season after a drug investigation in İstanbul led to Saran’s brief detention, prompting calls for an early vote.

Saran said he will remain in office until the season ends and then take the club to an extraordinary elective general assembly, a mechanism Turkish sports clubs use to hold an early leadership election.

Saran was detained and questioned last week in a broader narcotics investigation led by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Prosecutors have accused suspects in the wider case of offenses that include supplying drugs, facilitating drug use and personal drug use. Some parts of the investigation also include allegations tied to prostitution.

A court released Saran under judicial supervision, a pretrial measure that can require regular check-ins with the police and can also impose limitations on travel while the case continues.

Saran has denied the accusations in public statements carried by Turkish media, saying he has not used the substance cited by the prosecutors. He also said he filed criminal complaints over what he called false claims aimed at damaging his reputation and said he would not answer each allegation in public because it would keep the club at the center of the dispute.

The İstanbul-based Fenerbahçe club is one of Turkey’s best known sports organizations, with teams competing in football and other major sports, including basketball and volleyball. Fenerbahçe’s men’s football team is competing for the league title this season.

Saran’s announcement came after new arrests in the same narcotics investigation in recent days, part of a growing probe that has also targeted journalists, social media influencers and figures from the television and entertainment sectors.