Erman Toroğlu

Erman Toroğlu — Biography

Erman Toroğlu has left his mark on Turkish football first on the pitch, then with the whistle, and above all with the microphone and the pen. A former FIFA-listed referee, television pundit and sports columnist, he is known for blunt assessments of disputed refereeing calls, and in 2026 he still comments on matches on Sözcü TV and writes for the paper.

He began playing at Gençlerbirliği in his school years, turned professional with Ankara Güneşspor and Mersin İdman Yurdu, and then moved to MKE Ankaragücü, whose captain he was for many years. With Ankaragücü he won the 1971-72 Turkish Cup, the 1976-77 first-league title and the 1977 Ministry of Youth and Sports Cup. After retiring as a player he turned to refereeing, earned his FIFA badge in 1989 and in 1991 took charge of the Switzerland-San Marino Euro 92 qualifier; his last professional match was Samsunspor-Fenerbahçe in December 1993. Around that time he ran as a DYP candidate in Mersin.

He entered punditry with the program Maraton, alongside Şansal Büyüka on Show TV and Lig TV, and later worked on Telegol, Son Kale, TRT Spor, A Spor and Ekol TV, besides writing for Hürriyet. He was acquitted in June 2026 in a case over his remarks about Galatasaray. He graduated in 1976 from the Ankara Academy of Economics and Commercial Sciences.