Ex-Euros icon ended up in USA as Uber driver after ‘dying threats’ and exile
Legendary striker Hakan Sukur is arguably Turkey’s greatest-ever footballer – but he is no longer able to safely step foot in the country and lives in exile.
Sukur was renowned across Europe during his three spells with Galatasaray, scoring 295 goals, but his international success made him a global icon. He was a pivotal part of the team that enjoyed a surprise run to the 2002 World Cup semi-finals, earning a third-place medal for his country and scoring the fastest goal in tournament history, leading to a short spell at Blackburn Rovers.
Turkey’s record goalscorer, with 51 goals in 112 caps, also played at Euro 96 and 2000, making Sukur a beloved figure nationwide. After hanging up his boots in 2008, his popularity paved the way into politics. He joined President Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party and became an MP, but that is where things began to go wrong for Sukur, who escaped to the USA and now resides in Palo Alto, California.
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“Erdogan took everything from me. My right to freedom, the right to explain myself, to speak out, the right to work,” Sukur told German newspaper Welt am Sontag in 2020. “I have property in Turkey worth tens of millions of dollars. But everything was confiscated. They even imprisoned my father.”
“I ran a cafe [called Tuts in Palo Alto] for a while. Strange people came to my cafe and played dombra music,” he added. “Then we were put under police protection. The FBI watched us for a while. Fortunately, things have gotten better now.”
Asked about his work, the ex-Blackburn striker said: “I drive for Uber and I sell books.”
This dramatic shift from being one of Turkey’s most beloved sporting heroes was sparked by Sukur’s decision to resign from Erdogan’s party in 2013 and run as an Independent, prompted by Sukur’s perceived ties to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. An alliance between Erdogan and Gulen had broken down, leading all schools run by Gulenists to be closed, and Gulen was subsequently alleged to have led a coup attempt in 2016, which caused 300 deaths and 50,000 arrests.
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(Image: Lutz Bongarts/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Following the coup attempt, Sukur was deemed to be a member of an armed terrorist organisation, a charge that carries lengthy jail time. The iconic striker had already been charged with insulting Erdogan on Twitter, earlier that year, with the trial taking place in his absence. In 2015, Sukur managed to move himself and his family to the USA, insisting that he was the victim of false accusations and death threats, as well as wrongly having his assets seized.
“If Fethullah Gülen or anyone else committed a crime, that doesn’t mean that I or my father committed a crime,” Sukur argued. “Can they point to a crime that I have committed? No. They only say ‘traitor’ and terrorist’.
Everyone is allowed to believe what they want. But we have to act together in the global world. Not against Erdogan. We have to fight against evil thinking, against terrorism, against those who are against humanity.”
After being forced to carve out a new life in the USA, Sukur looks to be making positive steps. Last April, he and his family received their green cards allowing them to reside and work in the US, with Sukur opening a football school in Palo Alto a few months later.
The 52-year-old has been sharing his views on Turkey’s journey at the Euros through live streams on his YouTube channel, which has over 100k subscribers. A punditry role for a Turkish broadcaster is seemingly a long way off.
During the 2022 World Cup, it was speculated that a commentator was changed at half-time and sacked after mentioning a record held by Sukur on air. However, Sukur remains passionate about his country.
“I am an enemy of the government, not of the state and not of the Turkish nation,” he said. “I love our flag, our country. I am an enemy of wrong politics and a mentality that aims at detachment from the West. And of politicians who feel cornered because they have committed many crimes and fear all those who remind them of their crimes.”
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