Turkish soccer player Meih Demiral was suspended from two games by the Union of European Football Associations on Friday for showing the salute of the ‘Grey Wolves,’ the Turkish ultra-nationalist far-right group, which is supported by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.
The UEFA’s two-day suspension of the Turkish player during the Euro 2024 tournament has created a diplomatic row between Turkey and Germany, which is hosting the games, the Associated Press reported.
The ban rules Demiral out of the quarterfinal against the Netherlands on Saturday, and a semifinal, should Turkey progress.
The Turkish Football Federation joined Turkish government officials in denouncing the suspension, but said it can’t appeal against it because it’s under the three-game threshold. The leader of Turkey’s nationalist party called on the team to boycott Saturday’s game and return home unless UEFA’s “shameful decision” is reversed.
“We consider it unfair this ban, because that was not a political gesture. It was interpreted as such, but it was just something that was not properly understood,” Turkey’s coach, Vincenzo Montella, said.
The gesture was condemned as “racism” by German interior minister Nancy Faeser, and Cem Özdemir, a German politician of Turkish descent, said the gesture “stands for terror, fascism.”
Their comments led to a harsh rebuke from Turkish authorities and the summoning of the German ambassador on Wednesday, the AP reported.
UEFA said it banned Demiral “for failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, 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,” the AP added.
Speaking before the decision, Erdogan, who changed plans to visit Azerbaijan so he can attend Saturday’s quarterfinal, said the 26-year-old defender merely expressed his “excitement” after his second goal.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the decision “has reinforced the view that there is an increase in the tendency to act with prejudice against foreigners in certain European countries.”
This is not first disciplinary action against Demiral, who along with 15 other Turkey players was reprimanded in 2019 for making military-style salutes at games at a time when the country was conducting a military offensive in Syria.
Turkey’s former foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu started a diplomatic row with Uruguay in 2022, when he flashed the Grey Wolves salute during a visit to that country’s capital, Montevideo.
Cavusoglu was on an official visit to Uruguay to attend the opening of a new Turkish embassy, and also kick off negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement, when, on April 23, he flashed the hand gesture used by the ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves organization to a group of Armenian protesters in Montevideo, a day before the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. This action drew condemnations from Uruguay’s president and foreign minister at the time.
Erdoagan, too, has used the Grey Wolves salute during campaign rallies and other gatherings of supporters for his AKP party.
In 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed amendments to that year’s defense spending bill, calling on the State Department to categorize the Grey Wolves as a terrorist organization.
