Abstract:
When the final score is concerned, “The principle of uncertainty” becomes the most appealing feature of football. The elimination of this feature via handicapping actually means the total elimination of the 'game'. Handicapping means making external interference on the game and the manipulating the final score in the aim of getting a specific, desired result. The reason behind the establishment of such suitable grounds on handicapping in football, is the massive size of the game, and the possibility of economic rent leading to great returns. The most important complementary element regarding football in the era we are in is the media. Delivering news of handicapping process is the most important subject to focus on and it is an issue that will be the subject for future academic studies. Handicapping and investigation primarily 'in favor of the window' has been addressed by the media. Such an approach has prevented the topics to be discussed by the public sphere gathered around football in a healthy and proper direction. In this study, an “interviewing method’ was used on the above mentioned concepts regarding the perception of the fans on football handicapping in Turkey that has been coming up frequently in recent years. Originality of this study comes from the analysis made on the supporters of the teams placed in the “Big Four” category in the Turkish league (namely Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor), that constitutes most of the overall football fans in this country. As a result, a carefull analysis will be made on the supporters’ approach to handicapping allocations and the ways in which these are made.

Keywords: Football fans, football, handicapping, media

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