Press
The wolf salute of a Turkish national player at the European Championship match in Leipzig becomes a political issue. UEFA and Federal Minister of the Interior Faeser get involved.
Leipzig – The Türkiye dreams of the title at the World Cup after a dramatic victory against Austria on Tuesday. European Football Championship 2024There is also a euphoric mood among Turkish fans in Germany and Austria. But the big party in the country is overshadowed by a gesture that is currently causing a lot of controversy.
The wolf salute by match winner Merih Demiral in the round of 16 against Austria has indeed sparked a lot of discussion. Demiral had shown the gesture on the pitch in the Leipzig football stadium – with both hands. The European football association UEFA has even launched an investigation into the matter.
Demiral’s wolf salute at European Football Championship 2024 divides Turkey
The gesture is the subject of heated debate among people of Turkish origin. The wolf salute of the goal scorer, the symbol of Turkish nationalists who call themselves Ülkücü or Grey Wolves, divides the country – all the more so on the anniversary of the Sivas massacre. On July 2, 1993, thousands of Islamists and nationalists gathered in front of the Madimak Hotel, where mostly Alevi intellectuals and artists had gathered for a cultural festival in the central Anatolian city.
The mob first threw stones at the hotel and then set it on fire. 35 people were murdered in front of security forces who stood by and did nothing. To this day, the Sivas massacre has not been dealt with.
Demiral shows wolf salute at European Football Championship 2024 on anniversary of “Sivas massacre”
“I will never be for racists and fascists. Just today we remembered Madımak. Those who burned Madımak made this sign. Down with fascism,” wrote the former MP of the pro-Kurdish HDP on X. Journalist Rusen Takva took a similar view. “This behavior only harms social peace,” Takva wrote on the online platform.
Journalist Enver Aysever also criticized Demiral for his gesture. “Do you have the right to sabotage the success of the Turkish national team in this way? If Alevis, Kurds, everyone is happy, what is the point of reducing the victory to this level,” he said in a broadcast on YouTube.
He is extremely ignorant, stupid and has no idea what a national team stands for.
Journalist Sevgi Akarcesme, who lives in exile in the US, was even clearer: “This Turkish soccer player scored a goal last night and celebrated with a fascist gesture, which is the symbol of the far-right political party in Turkey. My first impression of him after seeing this picture: He is extremely ignorant, stupid and has no idea what a national team stands for.”
Right-wing extremist in Turkey praises Demiral after wolf salute at the 2024 European Football Championship
The wolf salute, however, is widely accepted by Turkish nationalists. “The fact that our son Merih Demiral, who won the recognition and justifiable praise of our nation with his goal and the football he played last night, shared his joy of scoring with the wolf salute has obviously disturbed many sick circles inside and outside of us and has thus become a pretext for various searches and explanations,” said the leader of the right-wing radical MHP, Devlet Bahceli, on X.
Human rights organisation expresses outrage after wolf salute at European Football Championship 2024
The symbol of the Turkish nationalists also caused anger among human rights organizations. Dr. Kamal Sido, Middle East consultant at the Society for Threatened Peoples, condemned Demiral’s behavior and called on UEFA to “no longer tolerate the display of the Turkish right-wing extremist wolf salute at European Championship matches, not only by fans, but also by football players.” This behavior “was insulting to millions of Alevis on the anniversary of the Sivas massacre in 1993,” Sido said when asked by IPPEN.MEDIAThe GfbV therefore calls for distancing itself from the public display of the right-wing extremist symbol.
Football and nationalism intertwined in Türkiye
Political scientist Dr. Hüseyin Cicek at the University of Vienna also sees the gesture of the Turkish national player as dangerous. “The wolf salute stands for a political narrative and political action that sees the Turks as the original people and also encourages them to banish everything non-Turkish from Turkey, neutralize it, etc. The means to do this are usually violence,” said the Turkey expert in a conversation with IPPEN.MEDIA.
Dr. Dimitar Bechev agreed with this assessment: “Football and nationalism have always been intertwined, and Turkey is no exception. Even though Erdogan has softened his rhetoric towards the West, Turkish society is susceptible to ultra-nationalist rhetoric and mindsets. The gesture speaks to this fact. It comes at a time when anti-Syrian violence is on the rise,” the Turkey expert at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies said when asked.
Bechev is right. Austrian football fans also caused a scandal in Leipzig. During a broadcast on Swiss television srf was before the match between Turkey and Austria to see how fans of the ÖFB selection in the city sang the slogan “Germany for the Germans, foreigners out” to the tune of the song “L’amour toujours”. The Leipzig police are said to have raised initial suspicions.
Wolf salute at European Football Championship 2024 also causes discussions in Germany
Politicians have also joined the discussion. “Our security authorities have Turkish right-wing extremists in Germany firmly in their sights. Grey wolves are under observation by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution“, wrote Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) on X.
The answer from the deputy chairman of the ruling party AKPÖmer Celik, was not long in coming. The UEFA investigation and Faeser’s statements were unacceptable. “Anyone looking for racism and fascism should focus on the recent election results in various European countries,” Celik said on X. (dpa)
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