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Arrest warrant issued for ex-football star and MP Hakan Sukur
Baku, August 12, AZERTAC
Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for former international football star striker and MP Hakan Şükür in the probe over the failed July 15 coup carried out by Gülenist terror cult, according to Daily Sabah newspaper.
Sukur is accused by prosecutors in Sakarya province east of Istanbul of being a "member of an armed terror group" known as the FETÖ led by the US-based preacher Fetullah Gülen.
A similar warrant has also been issued for his father Selmet Şükür.
Neither man were found at their Istanbul and Sakarya residences after the warrant was issued.
Şükür and his family left Turkey last December, and he is currently believed to be in the United States.
Şükür was one of the stars of Turkey's third place performance in the 2002 World Cup and a household name in the football-mad country.
A striker whose football career stretched from 1987 to 2007, Şükür was by far the most prolific goalscorer in the history of the Turkish national side, finding the net 51 times in 112 appearances.
He was a stalwart player for Istanbul side Galatasaray but also had stints abroad for Inter Milan, Parma and Blackburn Rovers.
His goal after just 11 seconds of play against South Korea in 2002 remains the fastest goal in World Cup history.