A World Cup commentator got fired during the game for saying a ‘forbidden name.’
A Turkish commentator being taken off the air at the 2026 World Cup is happening again, like it did in 2022. TRT, the channel covering the tournament, announced that Murat Ekrem Cimen, a seasoned broadcaster, was suspended for the whole event. Many think this was a tough call, but it came after he kept mixing up Iran and New Zealand during the 2-2 game at SoFi Stadium on Tuesday.
Videos of his mistakes spread on social media, and TRT confirmed that Cimen was removed for errors that didn’t meet their broadcasting standards. This is the second World Cup in a row where a Turkish commentator has been punished this way.
Back in 2022, Alper Bakircigil was also taken off air by TRT while commentating the Morocco vs. Canada match. He was let go at half-time, reportedly because he said two “forbidden words” during the first half. Bakircigil mentioned Hakan Sukur, Turkey’s top scorer and the player with the fastest World Cup goal—scored just 11 seconds into the third-place match against South Korea.
Sukur is well-known, having played for clubs like Galatasaray and Inter Milan and scoring 51 goals in 112 games for Turkey. But he became very controversial in Turkey. Because Bakircigil said his name, he was taken off air.
Afterwards, Bakircigil wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “I was cut off from TRT, where I worked with pride for many years, after today’s event. Separation comes with love. Hope to see you again. Goodbye.”
After retiring from football, Sukur went into politics but was accused of terrorism and part of a failed coup attempt tied to the Fethullah Gulen movement. He denied the accusations, but his assets were taken and an arrest warrant was issued. Sukur moved to the U.S., where he ran a cafe, drove for Uber, and started a football school in Palo Alto, California.
In exile, he couldn’t return to Turkey. In an interview, he said, “I have nothing left. Erdogan took everything: my freedom, my right to speak, and my right to work.” He added, “I never did anything illegal. I am not a traitor or terrorist.”
Sukur has lost many honors, including an honorary degree and his club membership at Galatasaray. The club even removed him from photos and videos about their 2000 UEFA Cup win.
On the 20th anniversary of that victory, Galatasaray left Sukur out of all related content, even cutting his penalty shot from celebrations. Responding to this, Sukur wrote, “The time will come to tell the real story of this cup we proudly won and how it was won. Let me tell those afraid to mention the top scorer’s name—history is written once, and we wrote it.”