UEFA has suspended the Turkish footballer, Demiral, for two matches for the "grey wolf salute" he made after his second goal against Austria in the round of 16 of the 2024 European Championships underway in Germany.
The Turkish player, formerly of Atalanta and Juventus and now at Al Ahli, had mimed two wolves with his hands to greet the Turkish fans. This is the traditional greeting of the "Grey Wolves", a right-wing extremist and nationalist movement in Turkey which has hit the news, among other things, also for its involvement in the attack on Pope John Paul II.
Any "political" greeting is prohibited by UEFA regulations but the episode became a real diplomatic case: the German Interior Minister had hoped for UEFA intervention. The Turkish government, in response, then summoned the German ambassador to Ankara. A similar measure was taken the following day by the German executive which summoned the Turkish ambassador to Berlin on Thursday.
At this point Demiral, scorer of the brace that secured the passage of the round against Austria 2-1, will miss Saturday's match against the Netherlands and also the possible semi-final .
The decision was not received well by Turkish state TV, which bluntly defined it as "scandalous" .
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan , who will be in Berlin tomorrow to watch Turkey's quarter-final against the Netherlands, also spoke on the case: « Merih (Demiral, ed.) showed his joy in this image ». He did not want to comment on the diplomatic case that has opened. “The necessary steps have been taken,” he limited himself to saying.
(Unioneonline/L)
