FIFA World Cup's Fastest Goalscorer, Who Can Never Return Home: The Story Of Turkey's Hakan Sukur
Turkey's Hakan Sukur is etched into FIFA World Cup folklore, having scored the tournament's fastest-ever goal and led his team to the bronze medal. Yet, he can never return home.
- In 2002, Turkey's Hakan Sukur scored the fastest goal in FIFA World Cup history, scoring after just 11 seconds
- But Sukur resides in exile in the USA since 2015, with an arrest warrant issued against him in Turkey
- This was over alleged links to a network deemed as a terrorist organization by the Turkish government
The record for the fastest goal of FIFA World Cup 2026 was broken twice in the space of a few hours on Saturday (IST). Morocco's Ismael Saibari scored after just 70 seconds against Scotland, but Paraguay's Matias Galarza bettered it, scoring after just 65 seconds against Turkey. However, both of their efforts still fell well short of the actual fastest goal in FIFA World Cup history, which was scored by Turkey legend Hakan Sukur in the 2002 edition. Sukur had opened the scoring after just 11 seconds in the third-placed match of World Cup 2002.
However, despite captaining Turkey to a historic bronze on football's biggest stage, Hakan Sukur is now in exile, living in the United States and unable to return home. Here's the sensational story.
Why Hakan Sukur is in exile
In February 2016, Hakan Sukur was charged with insulting Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on social media. A warrant for his arrest was also issued over alleged links to the Gulen movement, a religious network deemed as a terrorist organization by the Erdogan-led government.
But by then, Sukur had already left the country. In an interview in 2018, Sukur revealed that he had left Turkey in September 2015, moving to Bay Area, San Francisco, California.
Originally, Sukur had moved to the United States in search of business opportunities. However, the news of his arrest warrant forced him to stay put in the USA, unable to return home.
It was a dramatic twist of fortunes, as Sukur had been elected a Member of Parliament to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey just a few years earlier in 2011, but had resigned in 2013 amid alleged links to the Gulen movement.
To survive in the USA, Sukur had to become a part-time cafe owner, work as an Uber driver, and also sell books. In 2019, on a video on his YouTube channel, Sukur revealed that his properties, businesses and bank accounts in Turkey had been seized by the Turkish government.
The erasure of a Turkish football legend
Sukur is the top goalscorer for the Turkey national football team, with 51 strikes in 120 games. However, in recent years, there has been an active erasure of his legacy.
During the FIFA World Cup 2022, a commentator had mentioned Sukur's name in passing on a Turkish broadcast. The result? The commentator was removed from his role at half-time, and fired totally later that day.
From a national hero in Turkey, whose wedding had been attended by Erdogan himself, Sukur is now at a point of no return to his birthland.
Incidentally, Turkey have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which is majorly hosted by the USA. It is Turkey's first qualification to the major tournament since Sukur led them to third in 2002.
Yet, despite having a game in San Francisco itself, where Sukur resides, he is not risking attending the match, due to the fear of security and intelligence linked to the Turkish government being present at the stadium.
"I can't go home, so God brought (the team) here to San Francisco," said Sukur ahead of Turkey's match in San Francisco against Paraguay, as reported by The San Francisco Standard.
On June 29, 2002, Sukur opened the scoring for Turkey after 11 seconds in the third-place match against South Korea. It remains the fastest goal in FIFA World Cup history, and a night that etched his legacy into Turkish football folklore. Yet, 24 years later, the legacy of Turkey's greatest is at risk to his own people.
Turkiye