Drama in Turkey as Fenerbahce president is arrested after testing positive for cocaine

Shockwaves have hit Turkish football after Fenerbahce president Sadettin Saran was taken into police custody in Istanbul.

The arrest follows a positive cocaine test and forms part of a widening drug investigation involving high-profile figures in Turkey.

Sadettin Saran was arrested on Wednesday after forensic tests reportedly detected traces of cocaine in his hair samples, according to Turkish state media.

The detention was carried out by the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command under the supervision of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which said the move followed additional evidence gathered during the investigation.

Authorities stated that the charges against Saran include providing narcotic substances, facilitating drug use, and personal drug consumption.

The Fenerbahce president, a dual citizen of Turkey and the United States, had been summoned by prosecutors last week to give testimony and was sent to a forensic medical facility to provide both hair and blood samples.

Saran is among more than a dozen individuals detained since early December as part of the same probe. Those arrested reportedly include television presenters, journalists, singers, actors, and social media personalities, with charges ranging from drug-related offences to facilitating prostitution.

Despite the controversy, Fenerbahce moved quickly to publicly support their president. In a statement released on X, the club expressed confidence in Saran and reassured supporters that operations would continue without disruption.

“We have full confidence that our president will overcome this process with the same common sense and fortitude he has always shown,” the statement read.

Earlier on Wednesday, Saran rejected the test results, insisting he has never used cocaine and pledging to formally request a repeat examination. Elected chairman in September, the Denver-born businessman now finds himself at the centre of one of Turkish sport’s most serious scandals in years.

Fenerbahce, one of Turkey’s most successful and popular clubs, has a history of legal turmoil, with a former president previously jailed on match-fixing charges before being acquitted.

The latest episode adds to ongoing scrutiny surrounding the club amid broader investigations into illegal betting and match manipulation in Turkish football.