1972–73 1.Lig

1.Lig
Season	1972–73
Champions	Galatasaray; 6th title
Relegated	Şekerspor; Türk Telekomspor
European Cup	Galatasaray
Cup Winners' Cup	Ankaragücü
UEFA Cup	Fenerbahçe; Eskişehirspor
Matches	240
Goals	449 (1.87 per match)
Top goalscorer	Osman Arpacıoğlu; (16 goals)
	← 1971–72 1973–74 →

The following are the statistics of the Turkish First Football League for the 1972–73 season.

Overview

It was contested by 16 teams, and Galatasaray S.K. won the championship.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Galatasaray (C)	30	19	9	2	47	12	+35	47	Qualification to European Cup first round
2	Fenerbahçe	30	16	10	4	42	17	+25	42	Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
3	Eskişehirspor	30	12	12	6	31	19	+12	36	Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
4	MKE Ankaragücü	30	12	10	8	24	21	+3	34	Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup first round
5	Boluspor	30	12	9	9	37	30	+7	33	Invitation to Balkans Cup
6	Beşiktaş	30	9	13	8	14	18	−4	31
7	Altay	30	11	8	11	32	23	+9	30
8	Göztepe A.Ş.	30	11	8	11	33	31	+2	30
9	Giresunspor	30	11	7	12	27	34	−7	29
10	Bursaspor	30	6	16	8	27	29	−2	28
11	Mersin İdmanyurdu	30	8	11	11	26	31	−5	27
12	Samsunspor	30	8	10	12	21	40	−19	26
13	Adanaspor	30	7	9	14	24	34	−10	23
14	Vefa	30	6	10	14	22	35	−13	22
15	Beypazarı Şekerspor (R)	30	6	10	14	20	38	−18	22	Relegation to Turkish Second Football League
16	Türk Telekomspor (R)	30	4	12	14	22	37	−15	20	Relegation to Turkish Second Football League

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	ADA	ALT	BJK	BOL	BUR	ESK	FNB	GAL	GRS	GÖZ	MİY	AGÜ	PTT	SAM	ŞKR	VEF
Adanaspor		2–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–2	1–0	0–1	2–1	2–2	3–0	0–2	1–0	3–1	1–1	0–0
Altay	1–0		3–0	3–0	1–1	0–0	0–1	0–2	5–1	2–0	2–1	3–0	0–0	0–1	2–0	4–1
Beşiktaş	2–1	0–0		1–0	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–3	2–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–0
Boluspor	0–0	2–0	1–0		2–1	1–0	1–1	0–0	2–1	1–0	3–3	1–0	1–0	6–0	1–1	5–1
Bursaspor	3–0	0–0	1–1	1–1		0–0	0–0	0–1	0–1	3–2	1–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–0	1–0
Eskişehirspor	2–1	0–0	0–0	3–1	2–2		2–1	2–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	1–0	0–0	6–0	0–1
Fenerbahçe	4–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	4–1	1–0		0–1	4–2	1–1	3–0	1–0	3–0	1–0	3–0	2–1
Galatasaray	1–0	1–0	0–0	3–1	2–1	3–1	1–1		2–0	0–1	2–0	3–0	3–0	5–0	1–0	3–1
Giresunspor	3–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	1–0	1–1		0–3	1–1	1–0	3–1	1–0	1–3	0–0
Göztepe	1–0	1–0	0–0	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	0–4	3–2		0–1	1–2	2–1	4–0	1–1	1–0
Mersin İdman Yurdu	0–1	2–2	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–0	2–0		0–0	1–1	3–1	4–2	1–0
MKE Ankaragücü	2–1	2–1	0–0	2–0	2–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–1		0–0	1–0	2–0	1–1
PTT	1–1	0–1	0–0	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–2	0–1	2–1	1–0		0–1	1–0	3–1
Samsunspor	0–0	2–0	2–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	1–2	1–1	0–0	0–4	1–0	2–2	1–1		1–0	1–0
Şekerspor	1–0	0–1	0–0	1–0	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–0	0–1	2–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	1–1		1–0
Vefa	1–1	0–0	0–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–2	0–0	2–0	1–0	0–1	1–0	3–2	2–0

Source: TFF, Mackolik
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Controversy

At the end of the 1972–73 season, Galatasaray, managed by English coach Brian Birch and featuring players such as Metin Kurt, Gökmen Özdenak, Yasin Özdenak and Mehmet Oğuz, completed the first league title hat-trick in Süper Lig history by winning the 1970–71, 1971–72 and 1972–73 championships.^[1]

In 2005, the pro-government newspaper [Yeni Şafak] published a report stating that the president of the Turkish Anti-Doping Centre had alleged before a parliamentary inquiry committee of the TBMM that Galatasaray players had been given doping substances supplied from England between 1971 and 1974.^[2] The report also stated that several Galatasaray players experienced health problems following Brian Birch's departure from the club.^[2]

Former Galatasaray substitute player Yıldo confirmed that Birch had administered substances to players during that period, but stated that he did not confirm whether the substances were doping agents or vitamins.^[3]

In his 2009 memoir book, former Galatasaray player Metin Kurt stated that he had used doping substances in the form of pills and injections during his playing career, but denied that Brian Birch had been responsible for their use.^[4] Kurt wrote that doping practices in Turkish football at the time involved club administrators and kit managers, and also referred to published accounts involving Fenerbahçe player Ogün Altıparmak and Beşiktaş player Yusuf Tunaoğlu.^[4]

Weblinks

Turkey - List of final tables (RSSSF)

References

↑ Mete Kaan Kaynar (2020). "Türkiye'nin 1970'li Yılları" [Turkey in the 1970s] (in Turkish). İletişim Yayınları. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
1 2 "Galatasaray'a şok suçlama" [Shocking allegations against Galatasaray]. Haber7.com (Online) (in Turkish). 18 February 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
↑ "Yıldo: Biz vitamin sanıyorduk" [Yıldo: We thought it was a vitamin]. YeniSafak.com (Online) (in Turkish). 19 February 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
1 2 "Türk futbolunun efsanesinden doping itirafları" [Doping confessions from a Turkish football legend]. ajansspor.com (Online) (in Turkish). 10 April 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2026.

[1] Mete Kaan Kaynar (2020). "Türkiye'nin 1970'li Yılları" [Turkey in the 1970s] (in Turkish). İletişim Yayınları. Retrieved 29 May 2026.

[Haber7-2] 1 2 "Galatasaray'a şok suçlama" [Shocking allegations against Galatasaray]. Haber7.com (Online) (in Turkish). 18 February 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2026.

[3] "Yıldo: Biz vitamin sanıyorduk" [Yıldo: We thought it was a vitamin]. YeniSafak.com (Online) (in Turkish). 19 February 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2026.

[Ajansspor-4] 1 2 "Türk futbolunun efsanesinden doping itirafları" [Doping confessions from a Turkish football legend]. ajansspor.com (Online) (in Turkish). 10 April 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2026.

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