Turkish Broadcaster Suspended For Blunder During World Cup Match

(KMDL-FM) The World Cup is underway, and whether you give a corner kick about soccer or not, it's a big deal. The whole world is watching the host countries of America, Canada, and Mexico, at least for the next couple of weeks, while the World Cup matches are contested.

When Does the USA Play Its Next World Cup Match?

The United States Men's National Team is competing in Group D of the World Cup tournament bracket. They have already defeated Paraguay in group play. They will face Australia on Friday, and on June 25th, the USA will round out group play with a match against the team from Turkiye. Yeah, that's how they want it spelled these days.

When the US takes on Turkiye on June 25th, fans of Turkish soccer will not be hearing a longtime voice associated with the sport calling the match. We have learned that the Turkish State Broadcaster TRT has removed Turkish broadcaster Murat Ekrem Cimen from his duties behind the microphone.

Murat Ekrem Cimen is an experienced broadcaster with three decades of calling soccer matches in Turkiye and around the world. He must have said something heinous or made a political statement on air, right? Nope, he was removed because he made a mistake.

What Major Mistake Did The Turkish Soccer Announcer Make During the World Cup?

Oh, it was one hell of a mistake. He spent the first four minutes of a game he was broadcasting back to Turkiye telling the audience some very incorrect information. You see, Murat Ekrem Cimen mixed up the teams from New Zealand and Iran; he thought the New Zealand team was Iranian and the Iranians were the Kiwis.

Remember this was not just a passing gaff, this was four minutes of calling the wrong team by the wrong name and crediting play to the wrong players. For their part, TRT, the broadcast company, apologized for the error in announcing the announcer's suspension.

I understand mistakes; they happen a lot in sports broadcasting, but when you can't tell the team dressed in white and the team dressed in black aren't who you say they are, you might want to reconsider your options as a broadcaster.