ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - European football’s governing body on Friday suspended Turkish defender Merih Demiral for two games, after celebrating a goal with an ultranationalist Grey Wolves salute.
Demiral celebrated his second goal against Austria in the round of 16 match of the Euro 2024 football championship with the “wolf salute,” a gesture associated with the Grey Wolves, a far-right extremist group closely linked to Turkey’s ruling coalition party, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
Demiral was suspended "for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute," according to a Friday statement from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
The Al-Ahli player will miss Turkey’s quarterfinal show down against the Netherlands, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend on Saturday, and a potential semi-final match.
Turkey's Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz slammed labeled UEFA's decision as "unacceptable".
"The excitement and beauty of football should not be overshadowed by political decisions," Yilmaz wrote on X.
Turkish foreign ministry said the decision "has caused deep disappointment among our citizens both at home and abroad, and has reinforced the assessment that the trend of prejudice against foreigners is on the rise in some European countries."
The Grey Wolf gesture sparked outrage among non-Turkish fans, journalists and politicians.
“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. We expect UEFA to investigate the case and consider sanctions,” German Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on X.
In response to the comments made by Faeser, Turkish foreign ministry in a statement accused Berlin of “xenophobia” in a statement and summoned the German ambassador to register its protest.
Following the match against Austria, Demiral posted a photo on X showing him celebrating with the salute with the phrase “ne mutlu Türküm diyene,” meaning “How happy is the one who says I am a Turk.”
The phrase, coined by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, carries a sinister meaning for minorities in Turkey, such as Kurds, Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians.
Demiral said his gesture was related to his “Turkish identity.”
“I had a goal celebration in mind, which I did. I am very proud because I am a Turk, therefore after the goal I felt it deeply, and I wanted to do it, and I am very happy about doing it,” he said in a post-match presser.
The Grey Wolves is infamous for attacks on minority communities in Turkey and abroad. In 2021, the European Parliament called on member states to apply the terror label to the Grey Wolves movement and ban the group in Europe.
It said that the group was “especially threatening for people with a Kurdish, Armenian, or Greek background and anyone they consider an opponent.”
In March, a group of Turkish nationalists did a wolf salute while attacking several Kurdish families returning from Kurdish New Year (Newroz) celebrations in Belgium. At least six people were injured, and the Kurdistan flag was burned.
Updated at 5:10 pm with reaction from Turkish foreign ministry
