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February 13th , 2025

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COMMENTATOR FOR THE 2022 WORLD CUP WAS FIRED MID-MATCH FOR REVEALING THE NAME OF A PAST HERO

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Sports

2 years ago



After addressing Hakan Sukur on air, a Turkish analyst was fired by the state network midway through a World Cup match.


On Thursday, as Alper Bakircigil was commentating on TRT, a surprising thing occurred during Canada's match versus Morocco. After just four minutes, Hakim Ziyech handed the north African team the lead, causing Bakircigil to mention the World Cup goal that was scored the quickest.


That record is held by Turkey's Hakan Sukur, who scored after only 11 seconds against South Korea in the match for third place in the 2002 World Cup play-off. Although true, the fact didn't sit well with his bosses, and when the game resumed for the second half, Bakircigil was substituted by a teammate.

In a since-deleted tweet, Bakircigil stated: "After the tragedy that occurred today, I was expelled from the TRT institution, where I proudly worked for many years. Love includes being apart. Wishing you a happy return. Goodbye..”


Sukur, one of Turkey's most well-known footballers, has 51 goals in 112 international games. However, it is his post-retirement behavior that has made him a contentious figure in Turkey.