Turkish commentator sacked during Morocco vs Canada game after saying 'forbidden name'

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

Morocco have been one of the surprise packages of the tournament in Qatar so far after they managed to beat Belgium last time out.

Their 2-1 win over Canada plus the goalless draw between Croatia and Belgium meant that Morocco advanced into the last 16 as the group winners.

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

During the match between Morocco and Canada, however, a commentator was sacked by Turkish broadcaster TRT.

Alper Bakircigil was covering the game for the channel and mentioned to viewers in Turkey that the fastest ever goal in World Cup history was scored by Hakan Sukur.

However, that particular nugget did not go down well with his employers - as Bakircigil was replaced for the second half and was later sacked.

Bakircigil wrote on Twitter: “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..”

Although Bakircigil was correct - as Sukur did score the fastest goal in the tournament’s history - his mention of Sukur’s very name seems to have been the reason behind his sacking.

Alamy

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

However, after his retirement, he entered politics and was later linked with terrorism. 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 Uber taxi driver. The former striker did previously speak about the accusations, he told German news outlet Welt Am Sonntag: “I have nothing left. Erdogan took everything: my right to freedom, my right to freedom of speech and my right to work.

“I never did anything illegal. I am not a traitor or a terrorist.”

SPORTbible have reached out to TRT for comments.