Turkey: Football legend Hakan Sukur faces prison after allegedly insulting President Erdogan on Twitter

A Turkish footballer turned MP faces jail in his homeland after being accused of insulting the country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Twitter.

Prosecutors allege that former Galatasaray star Hakan Sukur published tweets containing "insulting content against Mr President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his son", Turkey's Zaman reported.

Sukur claims that he was not referring to Erdogan in the social media posts. However prosecutors dismiss this, claiming the messages "clearly related" to Erdogan.

The former striker faces up to four years in jail if found guilty. The first hearing is expected in coming weeks.

Sukur, whose 20-year career ended in 2007, is the most prolific striker in the the history of Turkey's national side, with 51 goals in 112 appearances. After retirement, he was elected as an MP for Erdogan's AKP party, but resigned in 2013 after a corruption probe into the business interests of Erdogan and his inner circle.

Since being elected president in 2014 Erdogan has been accused of implementing increasingly authoritarian rule, launching a series of legal challenges against journalists, academics and others accused of criticising him.

In 2015, a man faced prosecution after likening Erdogan to Lord of the Rings character Gollum in a Facebook post.