Turkish State Broadcaster's Commentator Confuses Iran and New Zealand Teams During World Cup Broadcast

2026 World Cup Key News

(CNA, Istanbul, 17th –综合 international news reports) Iran faced New Zealand in their opening group stage match of the current World Cup on the 15th. However, a commentator for Turkey's state broadcaster TRT made a serious mistake during live commentary by confusing the two teams. The commentator has since been removed from the World Cup broadcast team and is under investigation.

According to an Associated Press report, TRT issued a statement late yesterday stating, "The commentator has been removed from the World Cup broadcast team in the United States and will not participate in future match commentaries pending the outcome of the investigation."

Turkish media have identified the commentator as Murat Ekrem Çimen. Within minutes of the match starting, he incorrectly described Iran's attacks as those of New Zealand and attributed New Zealand's actions to Iran.

TRT emphasized in its statement, "Such an error is unacceptable according to our broadcasting standards."

The statement further read, "We sincerely apologize to our viewers and the general public for this mistake. For someone with over 30 years of sports broadcasting experience to make such an error is utterly unacceptable for TRT."

The current World Cup is jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Iran and New Zealand are both in Group G. The match between the two teams on the evening of the 15th was held in Los Angeles, USA, and ended in a 2-2 draw. (Translation: Yang Zhao-Yan) 1150617

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