Turkish police raided the home of Sebahatin Şirin, the main leader of Galatasaray's notorious fan group, and after an eight-hour search found a small fortune and an arsenal; he is also charged with the murder of a Red Star fan in 2021.
In a major operation by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office, Turkish authorities arrested Sebahatin Şirin, also known as Muzafer Şirin, the main leader of Galatasaray's largest and most notorious fan group, "UltrAslan," on Tuesday, August 11, 2026. The arrest came just one day after Şirin fiercely attacked Justice Minister Akin Gurlek on social media platform X, accusing him of belonging to "a secret group within the state that wants to steal the title from Galatasaray and crown Fenerbahçe."
Police raided Şirin's home and conducted a detailed search lasting eight and a half hours. What they found goes beyond the usual scope of football hooliganism and points to deep ties with organized crime. In the apartment, they discovered $1.3 million in cash, €840,000, large quantities of gold, jewelry, and various foreign currencies. Alongside the money, weapons, ammunition, and four bulletproof vests were also seized.
Şirin faces a series of charges, including organized crime, black-market ticket reselling, drug possession and use, spreading false information, and inciting riots at sports venues. The investigation by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office sheds light on the dark side of fan groups whose power, it seems, extends far beyond the stands.
The "UltrAslan" group remains remembered in Serbia and across Europe for the tragic event of November 2021. At that time, in Istanbul, ahead of a basketball match between Galatasaray and Red Star, 25-year-old Marko Ivković, a fan of the Belgrade club, was killed. Ivković was stabbed in the back near the "Abdi İpekçi" arena and died from his injuries. The arrest of Şirin and the discovery of his arsenal and wealth now cast new light on this crime and confirm suspicions about the involvement of group members in serious criminal activities.
While football circles buzz about potential big transfers, such as Mohamed Salah's move to Trabzonspor, Romelu Lukaku's to Fenerbahçe, or Dušan Vlahović's to Beşiktaş, the Şirin case reveals the dark side of Turkish football, where certain fan groups, like the one that has dominated the Super League for four years, operate like criminal organizations.
