Curious reason
Turkish state broadcaster suspends World Cup commentator
Updated June 17, 2026 – 11:09 amReading time: 1 min.
Murat Ekrem Çimen made a faux pas for four minutes in the game between Iran and New Zealand – a clip of which went viral. The broadcaster is now drawing conclusions.
The Turkish state broadcaster TRT has suspended its World Cup commentator Murat Ekrem Çimen and withdrawn him from the broadcast team in the USA. Çimen had mixed up both teams for over four minutes at the start of the match between Iran and New Zealand.
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He commented on the game as if the Iranian team was wearing the dark jerseys and the New Zealand team was wearing the white ones – when in fact it was the other way around. Only when the cameras showed Iran captain Taremi from behind in the fourth minute of the game did he correct himself.
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A clip of the mix-up spread on social media and drew significant criticism of TRT. The broadcaster then released a statement, apologized and announced an investigation. Çimen was not mentioned by name.
TRT described the error as unacceptable – especially since, according to the broadcaster, Çimen has over 30 years of experience in sports reporting. TRT left it open what further consequences the ongoing investigation would entail.