World Cup broadcaster paused for the rest of the tournament after making an ‘unacceptable’ mistake
A seasoned broadcaster covering the World Cup has been taken off the air for the rest of the tournament after making a four-minute on-air mix-up.
The 2026 World Cup, which is the first to include 48 teams, is being shown all over the world.
In the UK, ITV and the BBC are showing the matches, while Fox Sports is the main channel in the United States, the host country.
In Turkey, the state broadcaster TRT has been handling the coverage, but they quickly decided to remove one of their commentators after one round of games.
Murat Ekrem Cimen, who has over 30 years of experience in football broadcasting, got confused during the Iran vs. New Zealand game, calling out the wrong teams and players for about four minutes. He mixed up Iran and New Zealand while they were playing a 2-2 draw at SoFi Stadium on Tuesday, and clips of his mistake went viral on social media.
Because of the strong reaction, TRT decided to pull Cimen from all World Cup coverage. He won’t be working in any role during the tournament.
TRT said in a statement, “The mistake made during the Iran-New Zealand match commentary this morning is not acceptable based on our broadcasting standards. We are sorry to our viewers for this error.”
They added, “With TRT’s long history in sports broadcasting and commitment to quality, this was a serious mistake. We have started an investigation and will take the necessary actions. Cimen has been removed from the World Cup broadcast team and won’t be involved further.”
TRT also said it was surprising that someone with such a long career would make this kind of mistake, and they don’t support anything that breaks broadcasting rules in big events watched by millions.
Cimen started his career in 1997 and has commentated on both football and basketball nationally and internationally.
After the backlash online, The Mirror reported that Cimen’s social media accounts were affected, and his page on X (formerly Twitter) disappeared.
A fellow commentator, Ertem Sener from Beyaz TV, defended him, saying, “Yes, my colleague made a mistake, but the personal attacks against him are seriously upsetting. He has a family! Murat didn’t do anything shameful, just a professional error, and he’s not the only one to make mistakes.”
He added, “This job is too honorable to be treated like this by social media critics.”
In a similar case during the 2022 World Cup, Turkish commentator Alper Bakircigil was fired live during the Morocco vs. Canada game after mentioning Hakan Sukur’s name.
Sukur is Turkey’s top goalscorer and holds the record for the fastest World Cup goal, scored in just 11 seconds in 2002.
However, after retiring from football, he entered politics and was linked to a failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016, which he denies. He and his family then moved to the US.
It seems that mentioning his name caused Bakircigil’s dismissal. After being let go, he said, “I was cut off from TRT today, where I worked proudly for many years. Parting is a form of love. Hope to see you again. Goodbye.”