Turkish state broadcaster pulls commentator over player confusion

Turkish state broadcaster TRT removed a veteran commentator from its World Cup coverage after he confused Iran players with the New Zealand team during the opening minutes of a live broadcast.

TRT announced on X late on Tuesday that it has withdrawn commentator Murat Ekrem Çimen from its team for the World Cup in North America, pending a disciplinary investigation.

In its statement, TRT described the incident as “unacceptable” and apologized.

The error occurred during Monday’s Group G match between Iran and New Zealand. In the opening minutes, Çimen reportedly described Iran’s attacks as New Zealand moves, while New Zealand chances were attributed to Iran. New Zealand were wearing black when usually they wear white, the colour of Iran’s shirts on the day.

The mistake was later corrected during the live commentary, but viewers had already noticed the error, prompting a social media backlash.

Some critics said the TRT measure was too harsh. The broadcaster has been a journalist for 30 years.