Turkey have criticised UEFA’s decision to hand defender Merih Demiral a two-match ban for his goal in the round of 16 of Euro 2024.
Demiral scored twice in his country’s 2-1 win over Austria in the round of 16 on Tuesday to advance to a quarter-final against the Netherlands.
But the 26-year-old’s controversial celebration after his second goal led to a UEFA investigation into alleged ‘inappropriate behaviour’.
And now a two-match suspension has been announced ‘for violating the basic rules of decent behavior, using sporting events for non-sporting events and bringing football into disrepute’.
Demiral’s gesture, a “wolf salute,” is associated with the Gray Wolves, a far-right group in Turkey.
Turkish player Merih Demiral was given a two-match suspension for his controversial goal celebration
Demiral headed in his second goal from a corner before making the ‘wolf’ gesture
However, Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella and defender Ferdi Kadioglu have reacted strongly to the decision, stating that it was “not a political gesture” from the central defender.
Montella said at a recent press conference: “We think this ban is unfair. It was not a political gesture. It was interpreted as such, but it was simply misunderstood.
“But this will not dampen Turkish pride. We will be more passionate and proud and I am sure we will all be very motivated.”
Kadioglu, meanwhile, said: “I think the celebration of Merih had nothing to do with politics.
‘He wanted to celebrate this with the Turkish fans and the Turkish nation all over the world, and we think that is completely unfair.
‘Of course it’s a shame he got this suspension, but someone else will take his place for this match and he will do well.’
The Grey Wolves, officially called Ulku Ocaklari, are the youth movement of the Nationalist Movement Party, which forms a coalition with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK) of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella has since criticised UEFA’s decision to suspend Demiral.
Montella said it was “not a political gesture” and instead was “misunderstood”
The nationalist leader will attend the round of 16 clash against Ronald Koeman’s team in Berlin on Saturday night, but has called on Turkey to boycott the match.
Leader Devlet Bahceli said: ‘At this stage it is a moral and national expectation that our national football team does not participate in the Dutch match and in this way we express our democratic protest.’
Supporters of the group are considered extremists by the German Agency for Constitutional Protection, as well as by the European Union and the United States.
The gesture Demiral is said to have made is banned in France and Austria.
The ban was introduced in Austria in 2019 after a law was passed banning symbols of “extremist organisations”. The gesture can result in fines of up to €4,000 (£3,400).
But in 2019, the Turkish government criticized Austria’s stance, saying the ban equated a symbol of a legal political party with that of the PKK, a Kurdish militant movement considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU.
After the match, Demiral explained why he made this gesture.
Turkish Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli called on the team to boycott their quarter-final match against the Netherlands
“I had a specific celebration in mind, something that was connected to my Turkish identity. I am incredibly proud to be Turkish, and I felt that pride deeply after I scored,” he said.
“I wanted to express that and I’m really happy I did. Our fans are proud of us. I saw them make the gesture in the stands and that made me want to do it even more.”
German Interior and Home Affairs Minister Nancy Faeser urged UEFA to consider sanctions and reacted strongly to the alleged gesture.
“The symbols of Turkish far-right extremists do not belong in our stadiums,” Faeser wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday morning. “Using the European Championship as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable.”