World Cup broadcaster suspended for duration of tournament after 'unacceptable' mistake

An experienced broadcaster working at the World Cup has been suspended for the rest of the tournament after making an on-air mistake which lasted for four minutes.

The 2026 showpiece, the first to feature 48 teams, is being broadcasted all around the world.

ITV and BBC are the two channels showing the action in the United Kingdom, with Fox Sports the primary broadcaster for host nation the United States.

In Turkey, Turkish state broadcaster TRT (Turkish Radio and Television) have been responsible for coverage but they have already moved to take one of their employees off the air after one round of fixtures.

Despite having more than 30 years of experience covering football, Murat Ekrem Cimen repeatedly confused Iran and New Zealand during their 2-2 draw at the SoFi Stadium on Tuesday.

For around four minutes, Cimen mixed up the two teams and players on both sides. He referred to Iran when New Zealand were in possession and vice versa, with clips of the blunders widely shared on social media.

Because of the negative reaction, TRT elected to pull Cimen from broadcasting duties for the entirety of the World Cup and he will not work in any capacity.

"The error made during the commentary of the Iran-New Zealand match played this morning at 04:00 Turkish time in the 2026 FIFA World Cup is unacceptable according to TRT broadcasting standards," a statement read.

"We apologize to our viewers and the public for this error.

"TRT Spor's long-standing broadcasting experience, expertise, and commitment to quality are incompatible with this error, and the necessary administrative and investigative processes have been immediately initiated.

"The necessary actions will be fully implemented upon completion of this process. The commentator in question has been withdrawn from the World Cup broadcast team in the USA as part of the investigation and will not continue to participate in tournament broadcasts.

"It is unacceptable for TRT that someone with over 30 years of experience in sports broadcasting would make such a mistake.

"TRT does not condone any practices that violate broadcasting standards in national and international events reaching millions of viewers."

Cimen began his broadcasted career back in 1997 and has commentated on both football and basketball at national and international level.

World Cup commentator was sacked after saying 'forbidden' words

After facing huge backlash on social media, The Mirror say that Cimen's accounts were impacted and his page on X disappeared.

That prompted Ertem Sener, a colleague of Cemen's and a commentator for Beyaz TV to leap to his defence.

"My colleague made a mistake, yes, but the utterly outrageous personal insults directed at him are deeply upsetting to me," he stated.

"He has a family! Murat didn't commit a shameful crime; he made a professional error, and he didn't do it alone," he continued. "This profession is far too honorable to be fodder for the hyenas on social media."

During the 2022 World Cup, Turkish commentator Alper Bakircigil was sacked on air during Morocco's 2-1 win over Canada for mentioning the name of Hakan Sukur.

Sukur is Turkey's record goalscorer and also responsible for the fastest goal in World Cup history, scoring 11 seconds during his country's clash against South Korea in 2002.

The former Galatasaray, Blackburn Rovers and Inter Milan striker became involved in politics after retirement and was later linked to terrorism.

He and his family fled to the United States shortly before he was accused of playing a role in a failed coup attempt against the Turkish government in 2016 - something which he denies.

It appears as though the mention of his name cost Bakircigil his job. In a statement confirming his dismissal, he wrote: "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.."