Turkey says ban on Demiral for Euro wolf salute is unfair

BERLIN: Turkey defender Merih Demiral will miss his side’s Euro 2024 quarter-final against the Netherlands after UEFA suspended him for two matches on Friday for making an ultra-nationalist salute, a move Ankara called “unfair and biased”.

Demiral scored both of Turkey’s goals in their 2-1 last-16 win over Austria on Tuesday and during celebrations for his second goal he made a gesture associated with Turkey’s far-right Grey Wolves group.

UEFA said in a statement that it was banning Demiral “for violating basic rules of good conduct, for using sporting events for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing football into disrepute.”

Should Turkey beat the Netherlands on Saturday, Demiral would also be barred from the semi-final against England or Switzerland. Turkish Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak said the ban was politically motivated.

“We condemn UEFA’s unfair and biased decision, which has no legal basis and which we consider purely political,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Demiral said his celebration was linked to his “Turkish identity.”

The 26-year-old former Juventus defender, now at Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, assured that there was no “hidden message” in this greeting. Demiral posted a photo of his celebration on X with the caption “How happy is he who says ‘I am Turkish'”.

The move sparked a diplomatic row between Turkey and Germany, the host country of Euro 2024, where around three million Turks live. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warned that “symbols of the Turkish far right have no place in our stadiums.”

Turkey summoned the German ambassador on Wednesday over the reactions of politicians to Demiral’s celebration. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the quarter-final at the Olympiastadion in the German capital, where tens of thousands of Turks are expected.

Erdogan himself said Demiral was only “showing his enthusiasm” and several ministers and the spokesman for his ruling AKP party condemned Faeser’s reaction. The Grey Wolves advocated radical ideas and used violence in the 1980s against left-wing activists and ethnic minorities.

The wolf salute has been banned in Austria and France, but not in Germany. German Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir said Wednesday that “there is nothing hidden in the wolf salute.” Ozdemir, one of Germany’s most prominent politicians of Turkish origin, said the symbol “represents terrorism (and) fascism.”