Euro 2024: UEFA investigation into Demiral’s gesture after goal against Austria
Turkey defender Merih Demiral is under investigation by UEFA’s decision-making body for a controversial gesture after scoring in the Euro 2024 round of 16 match against Austria.
Demiral made the wolf salute with his fingers, a gesture associated with the Turkish far-right Grey Wolves movement, politically represented there through the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The act was condemned by German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and human rights groups, who called for a UEFA investigation.
UEFA said it was examining potential “inappropriate behaviour” by Demiral and that “further information on this matter will be made available in due course.” Any sanctions could jeopardise the player’s participation in Saturday’s quarter-final against the Netherlands. Demiral attributed the gesture to his “Turkish identity” after the match and that it did not contain any secret message. “I also saw people in the stadium doing the gesture. We are all Turkish, I am very proud to be Turkish and that is what the gesture means. I just wanted to show how happy and proud I am,” he said. Faeser expressed outrage at X, saying that “the symbols of Turkish right-wing extremists have no place in our stadiums. Using the European Football Championship as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable. “Our security authorities are keeping an eye on Turkish right-wing extremists in Germany. The ‘grey wolves’ are being monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.”
Ankara summons German ambassador for Demiral case. Berlin had asked for UEFA investigation into ‘Grey Wolves’ gesture
German Ambassador to Ankara, Jürgen Schulz, has been summoned by the Turkish Foreign Ministry after Interior Minister Nancy Fraeser asked UEFA to “open an investigation” on the behavior of Turkish national footballer Merih Demiral, who after scoring a goal in a match against Austria in the European Championship last night, made the gesture of the “grey wolves”, a symbol considered controversial in Turkey and linked to far-right nationalist movements. Anadolu reported, citing diplomatic sources. “There is no room in our stadiums for symbols of Turkish right-wing extremists,” Fraese said
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