A Turkish commentator was sacked halfway through a World Cup match by the state broadcaster after mentioning the name of Hakan Sukur on air.
Alper Bakircigil was commentating on Canada’s game against Morocco on Thursday on TRT when the remarkable incident happened. Hakim Ziyech gave the north African side the lead after just four minutes, prompting Bakircigil to talk about the fastest goal scored in World Cup history.
Turkey’s Hakan Sukur holds that record, having scored after just 11 seconds against South Korea in the third place play-off match at the 2002 World Cup. Although correct, that fact didn’t go down well with his employers and Bakircigil was replaced by a colleague when the match resumed for the second half.
