Turkey on Friday condemned UEFA’s two-match suspension for their defender Merih Demiral over a controversial gesture which rules him out of Saturday’s Euro 2024 quarter-final match against the Netherlands.
Turkish Football Federation (TFF) chairman Mehmet Buyukeksi labelled the decision “unacceptable, illegal and political.” Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak said the “unfair and biased decision … has no legal basis and is entirely political.”
Friday’s events came ahead of the match in Berlin, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed he will attend.
The TFF reportedly mulled a protest at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but Buyukeksi said the world’s highest sports court accepts only appeals against suspensions from three matches onwards.
Wolf salute has far-right connotations
Defender Demiral made the wolf salute, mimicking with his fingers the shape of a wolf’s head, after his second goal in a 2-1 victory over Austria in the round of 16 on Tuesday in Leipzig.
The gesture is attributed to a far-right extremist movement known as “Ülkücü” or “grey wolves.” They are linked to Erdogan’s political allies, the ultra-nationalist MHP in Turkey.
The gesture often expresses sympathy with the grey wolf ideology. Most recently, the wolf salute in Turkey has also been used by parts of the opposition to appeal to rising nationalism.
Demiral said he only wanted to express that he was proud to be Turkish and that there was no hidden message behind it.
UEFA acts firmly
But UEFA said on Friday it sanctioned the defender “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.”
He will miss Saturday’s quarter-final in Berlin and the next match, either the semi-final or another UEFA match.
Political statements and gestures are not permitted at UEFA matches.
UEFA had earlier at the Euros banned Albania’s Mirlind Daku for two matches after he chanted nationalistic slogans together with fans.
Turkish outrage and disappointment
Buyukeksi said in the statement on the TFF website that “the sign our player made during the goal celebration is not a political sign in any way, it is a sign that Turks have been using for centuries and symbolises Turkishness.”
He said the Turkish nation was “deeply disappointed” by UEFA`s “double-standards” and the “disproportionate” ban, citing what he called other more serious and “racist” actions among fans.
Bak said on X that “we condemn UEFA’s unfair and biased decision, which we believe has no legal basis and is entirely political,” speaking of a double standard applied to “our country and our national football player Merih Demiral.”
Turkey’s foreign ministry said: “International sports events are organized to bring societies and countries closer together.
“This decision, which created a deep disappointment for all our citizens at home and abroad, has strengthened the assessments that the tendency to act prejudiced against foreigners is increasing in some European countries.”
Turkey had earlier summoned the German ambassador after criticism from German politicians including Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, and Buyukeksi suggested these statements prompted the UEFA probe.
He added: “I am sure that this unjust verdict will encourage our passionate fans in Berlin, which we consider our second home, to stand behind our team as they have always done, more strongly than ever.”
Erdogan confirms appearance
Erdogan confirmed to news agency Annadolu that he would attend the match, expressing hope “the whole thing is over on Saturday when we leave the pitch as winners and reach the next round.”
Erdogan said that Demiral had only shown his “excitement” and labelled criticism of the incident excessive.
Erdogan did not mention the sanction, but it was not clear if he had talked to Anadolu before or after the UEFA decision was announced.
A Turkish ultras group earlier asked fans to make the wolf salute in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium during the national anthem before the game.
It said the wolf salute was not racist but “the national symbol of Turkishness.”
Big police presence in Berlin
The match has already been designated “the ultimate high-risk match” by Berlin’s police union spokesman Benjamin Jendro.
He told dpa some 3,000 police officers would be on duty, and that the expected presence of Erdogan does not change the situation because “we are already calling on everyone we can.”
Tens of thousands of Turks are expected to be at the match, and the Netherlands also have a huge following.
On top of that comes the large Turkish community in Berlin which according to its board spokesman Safter Cinar is excited but hopes everything stays peaceful.
“Berlin is the biggest city outside Turkey with more than 200,000 people of Turkish descent, so the people are naturally happy,” Cinar told dpa. “Many Turkish cafés and restaurants that didn’t have a TV have now installed one.”
