The Turkish Football Federation said work is under way to form a new Central Referees Committee. (EPA Images pic)

ISTANBUL: The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said Saturday it was working to shake up its refereeing oversight body after its top official was jailed pending trial on graft charges.

Ferhat Gundogdu, who heads the Central Referees Committee (MHK), and six other referee officials appeared in court Friday on suspicion of manipulating the referee administration process.

The judge placed Gundogdu and four others in pre-trial detention, while granting the two other officials conditional release.

"In light of these developments, work is ongoing to form a new Central Referees Committee," the TFF said in a statement on its website, its first comment on the arrests, which happened on Tuesday.