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.
Bakircigil wrote in a now-deleted tweet: “I was cut off from the TRT institution, where I worked proudly for many years, after the event that took place today. Separation is included in love. Hope to see you again. Goodbye..”
Sukur is one of Turkey’s most famous footballers, having scored 51 goals in 112 appearances for his country. But it is his actions post-retirement that makes him a controversial figure in Turkey.
Upon retirement, Sukur worked as a pundit for state broadcaster TRT before going into politics. He became an MP for the ruling Justice and Development Party – the party of current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was even a witness at his wedding.
But he remained close to powerful cleric Fethullah Gulen and later openly criticised Erdogan on social media. In July 2016 there was a failed coup against Erdogan’s leadership which was blamed on followers of Gulen, known as Gulenists.
In the aftermath, Sukur refused to denounce Gulen and saw his life fall apart. He managed to flee to the United States and started working as an Uber driver. If he were to Turkey he would face charges of insulting the president and rebelling against the government – charges which would be punished with Life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
“I have nothing left. Erdogan took everything: my right to freedom, my right to freedom of speech and my right to work,” he told German news outlet Welt Am Sonntag in 2020. “I never did anything illegal. I am not a traitor or a terrorist.
“I might be an enemy [of] this government, but not the state or the Turkish nation. I love my country.
“After the split with Erdogan, I started to receive threats. My wife’s shop was attacked, my children were harassed, my father put in prison and all my assets confiscated.
“So I moved to the United States, initially running a cafe in California, but strange people kept coming into the bar. Now I drive for Uber and I sell books.”
