On June 8, 2017, the Turkish Bridge Federation (TBF) announced that it has started an investigation into the illegal transmission of signals between a player, Salim Yilankiran and a kibitzer, Zafer Tigan. The issue arose at a tournament in Ankara on June 4, 2017.
The TBF Management Board created a committee to investigate and its report has been submitted to the TBF Disciplinary Board.
On July 17, 2917 the Decision of the TBF Disciplinary Board has been announced: The Disciplinary Board has concluded that Salim Yilankiran and Zafer Tigan acted against the ethics of the game and, therefore, they have been banned for life.
The players appealed the sentence to the highest sports authority in the country, the General Directorate of Sports who have an arbitration office, the Tahkim, who officiate such matters.
The Tahkim investigated the case, viewing all of the video footage, and had little doubt that the pair were cheating.
One might have concluded that would be the end of the matter, however, the arbitration office determined that the ‘disciplinary code’ was so outdated, cheating was not even mentioned in the rulebook, they determined that a lifetime was inappropriate and felt that that the sentence should be adjusted to a six months ban, the usual punishment for improper conduct in sports.
The penalty period has just expired.
Timo Erkoç wrote the full story at BridgeWinners.
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TBF launces the investigation »