CHP asks PM about deputy Şükür’s ‘new job’

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Former goal scoring hero Hakan Şükür draws reaction from the opposition and journalists alike after he agreed to work as a TV pundit while he is still a deputy. AA photo

A parliamentary question was submitted by the opposition regarding Istanbul deputy and former football star Hakan Şükür, who inked a deal with Lig TV as a pundit for the entire season.

The question was submitted to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) yesterday, one day after Şükür made his return appearance on television.

“His accumulation of football knowledge is valuable but should be used in Parliament. The question is whether such an activity is in accordance with his responsibilities as a deputy,” said CHP Konya deputy Atilla Kart in the parliamentary question submitted yesterday.

Şükür was elected an Istanbul deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) following the June 12, 2011, elections and abandoned his television career working as a pundit on the state-run TRT network after the elections. However, earlier this week it was announced that Şükür, the top goal scorer in Turkish football history, would work as a pundit at Lig TV, the official broadcaster of the top-flight games.

The timing of the incident is especially crucial given the recent match-fixing claims that have brought the Turkish football industry face to face with the judiciary, said Kart.

In addition to possible conflicts with Parliament regulations and laws, Kart also questioned the ethics of the deal with Lig TV, questioning whether this would give Şükür unfair profits while creating unjust competition with other sports channels.

“I have learned that Şükür was given permission from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before signing the deal,” said Kart. “This issue must be cleared up.”

CHP Yalova deputy and former physics teacher Muharrem İnce’s request in 2004 to help out an understaffed school by giving physics classes to students was turned down by Parliament, despite the fact he was volunteering his services, İnce said on Twitter Şükür’s return to the TV screen drew reaction from the media as well. “I raise the question how right it is that he is taking the punditry job as a deputy,” Yalçın Doğan said in his daily Hürriyet column yesterday.

Mehmet Tezkan also criticized the former Turkey forward in his column at the daily Milliyet.

“Hakan Şükür considered being a pundit more important than being a deputy and made being a deputy look unimportant and cheaper,” Tezkan said. “If he was so fond of being a football pundit, what was he doing in Parliament in the first place?”