UEFA president Michel Platini yesterday met Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss a match-fixing scandal that has rocked the domestic game, media reported.

The meeting came before UEFA’s executive committee is due to convene for the second time this year in Istanbul yesterday and the association’s annual congress starts on Thursday.

An unprecedented court case in Turkish football began in February, with 93 people, including the president of first division giants Fenerbahce, accused of rigging games.

The investigation, launched in early 2011, identified alleged corruption in first and second division matches in the 2010-11 season, as well as other malpractice.

Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim, 59, risks up to 72 years in prison if found guilty in the case, in which prosecutors are attempting to prove collusion between the world of football and the mafia.

Turkey’s football federation banned Fenerbahce from taking part in this year’s Champions League while Besiktas were forced to hand back the Turkish Cup they won in 2011.

Erdogan, a keen footballer in his youth, is a fan of Fenerbahce. The new president of the Turkish football federation, businessman Yildirim Demiroren, is close to the government and has promised to clean up the sport.

The Anatolie news agency said Demiroren and sports minister Suat Kilic also met Platini yesterday.

No statement was released afterwards, it added.

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