ISTANBUL: Lutfi Arıbogan has quit his senior role within the Turkish football federation to take over as general manager of new champions Galatasaray.

His move has infuriated fans of Istanbul neighbours and rivals Fenerbahce who blame Aribogan for  having taken a key role in persuading UEFA, this time last year, that their club should be barred from the Champions League over matchfixing allegations.

In a formal announcement to the Istanbul stock exchange, Galatasaray – whyo won the league title on Fenerbahce’s ground – announced that Aribogan will start work for them next Wednesday.

In early May, the TFF’s ethics committee cleared of suspicion all 16 Turkish teams implicated over the alleged match-fixing scandal from the 2010-11 season.  However Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim and executive Ilhan Eksioglu remain in detention pending the outcome of their long-running trials within the semi-secret Special Courts.

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