Merih Demiral, a defender of the Turkish national football team, was banned by UEFA for two games after he demonstrated a "wolf salute," a gesture associated with the Turkish far-right organization Gray Wolves.
Writes UNN with reference to AFP News Agency and Sport Mediaset.
Turkish national team defender Merih Demiral will miss the Euro 2024 quarterfinal match with the Netherlands after UEFA suspended him for two games on Friday for allegedly making an ultranationalist salute.
Demiral was suspended "for failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the fundamental rules of good behavior, for using sporting events for non-sporting purposes and for bringing football into disrepute," UEFA said in a statement.
Context
The central defender of Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahly showed a gesture related to the Gray Wolves, a far-right Turkish organization, during a 2-0 goal against Austria at Euro 2024.
According to TRT Haber, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has sent the evidence base for the investigation to UEFA.
HelpHelp
"The Wolf Salute is associated with the Bozkurt ("Gray Wolves") organization, the far-right and most radical youth wing of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which adheres to the ideology of Turkish nationalism and pan-Turkism.
Origin of the symbol: In Turkic mythology, the wolf is considered the ancestor of the Turks.
As for Bozkurt, which has the corresponding logo, this organization took an active part in the radical political movement in Turkey in the 1970s. Between 1976 and 1980, more than five thousand people were killed in street clashes and terrorist attacks.
Symbolic gesture provokes controversy
Demiral's gesture has caused diplomatic tensions between Turkey and Germany. On Wednesday, Turkey summoned the German ambassador to Ankara to protest the comments of German Interior Minister Nancy Feser, who called the footballer's celebration "unacceptable.
Subsequently , the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the "politically motivated" and "xenophobic in nature reaction of the German authorities to Mr. Demiral".
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also commented on the incident:
Does anyone criticize the fact that Germans have eagles on their shirts? Or the French because they have a rooster as a symbol? Merich simply demonstrated his enthusiasm for this image
Recall
Turkey's national team defeated Austria and made it to the 1/4 finals of the 2024 European Championship.