23.10.2026 10:41
Former referee and football commentator Ahmet Çakar, upon his photograph and name appearing on the list of people Azerbaijan has banned from entering the country, made a statement saying that the incident was due to a similarity of names, and said, 'Thirty-five years ago, too, my home had been subject to foreclosure because of that same Ahmet Çakar.'
Former referee and sports commentator Ahmet Çakar recounted the confusion over his name and photo appearing on the list of people whom Azerbaijan declared "persona non grata" (undesirable person) and banned from entering the country, among some names from Turkey. Stating that he saw his own image on the list due to the similarity of names, Çakar explained that the incident stemmed from his being confused with former MHP MP and journalist Ahmet Çakar.
"I SAW MY PHOTO AND FATİH ERBAKAN SIDE BY SIDE ON THE SCREEN"
Expressing his astonishment at the moment he saw the news on television, Ahmet Çakar described the process with these words: "I was sitting at home yesterday, drinking coffee. The anchor on television said, 'Azerbaijan has declared 30 Turkish citizens persona non grata.' The people on the list are generally from the conservative segment, academics and so on... Then, saying 'Ahmet Çakar, former referee, football commentator,' my own picture was broadcast on the screen. I looked, and there were me and Fatih Erbakan side by side! I said, 'What business do I have on this list with Fatih Erbakan?' At that moment, phones started ringing. I'm trying to understand the incident—I have never talked about anything related to Azerbaijan! Even my mother called and asked, 'Son, what business do you have with Azerbaijan?'"
"THEY HAD ALSO COME TO MY HOUSE WITH A SEIZURE ORDER 35 YEARS AGO"
Stating that he later grasped the situation, the famous commentator emphasized that the person he was confused with was his namesake, a journalist and former MP, and said, "Then I woke up. It turns out there was a former MHP MP Ahmet Çakar who writes for Akit, and they confused me with him. 35 years ago, too, my house had been subject to a seizure order because of that Ahmet Çakar."
Ahmet Çakar recounted the incident as follows;
- “I was sitting at home yesterday, drinking coffee. I had even put my feet up on the coffee table.”
- “The anchor on television said, ‘Azerbaijan has declared 30 Turkish citizens persona non grata, that is, undesirable persons, and banned them from entering the country.’”
- “They are all people from the conservative segment, academics and so on...”
- “‘Ahmet Çakar, former referee, football commentator,’ he said. I saw my own picture on the screen!”
- “I looked, and there were me and Fatih Erbakan side by side!”
- “I said, ‘What business do I have on this list with Fatih Erbakan?’”
- “At that moment the phones started ringing, buzzing in my hand.”
- “Man, I'm trying to understand the incident—I have never talked about anything related to Azerbaijan!”
- “Then I woke up. It turns out there was a former MHP MP Ahmet Çakar who writes for Akit, and they confused me with him.”
- “35 years ago, too, my house had been subject to a seizure order because of that Ahmet Çakar!”
- “Just think, my mother is calling: ‘Son, what business do you have with Azerbaijan?’ she says.”