BERLIN.- From Turkish passion to controversy: defender Merih Demiral, who scored his team’s two goals on Tuesday against Austria, is being investigated by the UEFA for its controversial celebration, a measure that has outraged the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Demiral was the hero of his team by scoring the goals in the 2-1 victory over Austria, which qualified for Türkiye for the quarter-finals of the European Championship in Germany.
But his celebration, using the symbol of the “Grey Wolves”, a Turkish far-right group, has given way to a bitter controversy, with members of the German and Turkish governments even intervening.
The ‘Grey Wolves’ are the paramilitary wing of the Nationalist Action Party, a member of the coalition led by President Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).
For decades, its militias have regularly intimidated and attacked minorities in Turkey such as Armenians, Kurds and homosexuals.
UEFA announced on Wednesday that it had opened an investigation into Demiral for “alleged inappropriate behaviour” over the gesture, which is identified with the far right in his country.
UEFA is expected to make public its findings and any sanctions before the quarter-final against the Netherlands on Saturday in Berlin.
“The symbol of Turkish right-wing extremists has no place in our stadiums,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) reacted to X.
“Using the European Football Championship as a platform for racism is totally unacceptable. We hope that UEFA will investigate the case and consider sanctions,” he added.
In Germany, where there is a large immigrant community of Turkish origin, the authorities have already had to deal with supporters of the “Grey Wolves”, a group considered racist and anti-Semitic in Germany.
AKP spokesman Omer Celik described the UEFA investigation and the reaction of the German minister as “unacceptable”.
“It would be opportune for those who pursue racism and fascism to focus on the results of the recent elections in some countries in Europe,” he added, referring to the rise of far-right parties in several countries in the European elections in June.
Recalling that Germany does not ban the symbols of the “Grey Wolves”, the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned “the politically motivated” and “xenophobic reactions of the German authorities towards Demiral”.
As the hours passed on Wednesday, the conflict escalated to the point that Turkish authorities summoned the German ambassador in Ankara to answer questions, a diplomatic source told AFP.
Player Explanation:
After the match, Demiral said that his gesture did not contain any “hidden message” and that he only wanted to express his “happiness” and his “pride” in being Turkish.
“The way I celebrated has something to do with my Turkish identity (…) I am very proud to be Turkish and that is the meaning of my gesture,” said Demiral, who was named the most valuable player of the match.
The footballer himself posted the photo of himself performing the gesture on X, which quickly went viral and sparked a wave of reactions, both critical and supportive.
“It is a symbol of oppression and persecution,” said Kamal Sido, head of the NGO Association for Threatened Peoples in the Middle East.
Turkish Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak, meanwhile, shared a photo of the player with the message “No need to say much…” and the Turkish flag.
Source: AFP
