“Symbols of Turkish right-wing extremists have no place in our stadiums,” a German minister said.
Germany’s interior minister on Wednesday condemned a Turkish football player who displayed an alleged far-right salute — triggering a row between Berlin and Ankara.
During Turkey’s Euro 2024 match with Austria in Leipzig on Tuesday, 26-year-old defender Merih Demiral celebrated a goal with a controversial salute, in which one or both hands are made to mimic the shape of a wolf’s head, a symbol of Turkey’s far-right and ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves organization. It was banned in Austria in 2019.
UEFA, football’s governing body in Europe, subsequently announced it was investigating Demiral for “alleged inappropriate behaviour.”
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser declared that “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,” she said, and called on UEFA to “investigate the case and consider sanctions.”
She added that Germany’s “security authorities are keeping a close eye on Turkish right-wing extremists in Germany,” and that the Grey Wolves “are under observation” by federal authorities.
The Grey Wolves rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s and played a role in a number of massacres and assassinations in Turkey. In 2021, the European Parliament called on EU member countries to ban the group.
Berlin’s criticism triggered a harsh response from Ankara, with Ömer Çelik, the spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Turkey’s former minister for EU affairs, calling it and UEFA’s investigation “unacceptable.”
“Those looking for racism and fascism would do well to focus on the recent election results in different countries in Europe,” he said on Wednesday, referring to the far right’s surging popularity across the Continent.
Demiral, for his part, defended giving the salute to celebrate scoring, saying it was an expression of his “Turkish identity” and there was “no hidden message.”
He added he hoped there was “even more opportunities to show this gesture” in future matches and that he saw Turkish fans giving the same salute.
If UEFA finds against him, he could face a ban from Turkey’s quarterfinal against the Netherlands on Saturday.
Both Turkey and Germany, the tournament hosts, have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Euros — and would meet in the final if they go all the way.
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