Elif Karaarslan, a 24-year-old referee, has caught major backlash for what she allegedly did with a referee observer.
Karaarslan and Orhan Erdemir, a 61-year-old referee observer, have both been suspended by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) following allegations linked to them having sex with each other on video, The Sun reported.
Karaarslan has been suspended for 90 days, while Erdemir faces a 45-day suspension. These suspensions took effect on October 4th.
Karaarslan, who was born in Istanbul, has denied being in the video and intends to appeal the decision. She said on Instagram: “I will have a long road ahead legally, but will overcome in the strongest and most robust way.
“I look forward to your full support and love in this process. Crying, screaming, and being sad are not things I would do. That is not me. I will stand by my cause until the end. I am just one of many who are being harmed – I hope I am the last.”
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Elif Karaarslan’s legal team echoed her claims: “A montaged video was published on social media, created entirely through AI from someone else’s social media account.” The lawyer added, “Taking into consideration this montage video, created with malicious and deliberate intentions, poses a threat to anyone facing similar accusations in the future.”
Before becoming a referee, she played for Besiktas.
This is especially bad for Elif Karaarslan, who turned her attention to refereeing after she was forced to quit playing football due to injury.
Now, she will also have to step away from officiating after she was hit with a lifetime ban.
Orhan Erdemir Isn’t Denying He Had Relations With Elif Karaarslan
On the other hand, Erdemir is denying nothing. He stated that it was him in the video, said that it was circulated without his permission, and admitted that his career is now over.
“My honor in my family, my social circle, and the refereeing community has been blown away,” The Sun quoted him as saying. “In addition to my financial losses, the emotional damage I have suffered is indescribable.”
He was a FIFA referee between 1999 and 2002. He also took charge of games in Turkey’s Super Lig before becoming an observer of his fellow referees.
Elif Karaarslan can quite possibly find another stream of income since she has more than 400,000 Instagram followers and is attractive.
She has been using the platform to share her love of the sport, posting snaps of herself as a referee and watching and playing football.
We will have to wait and see if she decides to spice things up later on down the road.
