'Hakan Sukur dismisses TRT's Turkish television commentator at Qatar 2022'

 

 A Turkish commentator was fired during the half-time interval in the World Cup Group F match between Morocco and Canada on Thursday afternoon.

Morocco has been one of the surprises of the tournament in Qatar so far, having drawn with Croatia, beaten Belgium, and most recently won 2-1 against Canada to qualify for the round of 16 as group winners.

The reward for finishing on top will be a tough test against 2010 winners Spain – who lost their final group game to Japan in one of the most memorable matches in recent World Cup history.

However, during the match between Morocco and Canada, a Turkish commentator was fired or fired from the Turkish television station TRT.

Alper Bakircigil was covering the match for the channel and mentioned to viewers in Turkey that the fastest goal in World Cup history was scored by Hakan Sukur, of Albanian descent.

However, that particular part did not go down well with his employers, as Bakircigil was substituted for the second half and later quit.

✅ TRT spikeri Alper Bakırcıgil'in Kanada - Fas maçının devre arasında değiştirildiği iddiası doğru.

Devre arasının ardından maçın ikinci yarısını spiker Cüneyt Kıran sundu.https://t.co/BvsEE3fvgU

— Teyit (@teyitorg) December 2, 2022

"They removed me from the TRT institution, where I worked proudly for many years, after the event that happened today. Separation is included in love. I hope to see you again. Goodbye..”, wrote Bakircigil on Twitter.

Although Bakircigil was correct – as Sukur scored the fastest goal in tournament history – the very mention of Sukur's name appears to have been the reason for his dismissal.

During his football career, Sukur was one of the biggest stars in Turkish football, scoring 51 goals in 112 appearances for his country.

However, after retirement, he entered politics and later became associated with terrorism by Erdogan. Sukur and his family then fled to the United States after he was accused of playing a role in a failed coup attempt in 2016.

Since moving to the US, Sukur is now working as a taxi driver for Uber. The former striker has previously spoken about the allegations.

"I have nothing left. Erdogan took everything: my right to freedom, my right to freedom of speech and my right to work."

"I have never done anything illegal. I am not a traitor or a terrorist", Sukur had declared for a German newspaper.