The so-called wolf salute is fatal for the Turkish national player Merih Demiral. UEFA suspended Demiral for two matches after he saluted the wolf in the European Championship round of 16 against Austria. The European Football Union announced this on Friday.
The 26-year-old will therefore miss Saturday’s European Championship quarter-finals in Berlin against the Netherlands and a possible semi-final. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit the Olympic Stadium for the match against Oranje.
“Demiral did not comply with the general principles of conduct, violated the basic rules of good conduct, used sporting events for non-sporting rallies and brought the sport of football into disrepute,” the European Football Union explained its decision on Friday. .
“Bild” had already reported on the ban for two games on Thursday afternoon. The Turkish association initially described this as a hoax, as the deadline for submitting the defense papers had not yet passed.
What does the sign “Gray Wolves” mean?
After his second goal in Leipzig, the 26-year-old Demiral formed a hand signal and symbol of the “Grey Wolves” with both hands in the 2-1 win in the round of 16 against Austria, which caused a lot of anger. Supporters of the far-right “Ülkücü Movement”, monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Germany, are known as “Gray Wolves”.
In Turkey, the ultranationalist MHP is the political representative and ally of President Erdogan’s Islamist conservative AKP. The wolf salute usually expresses an affinity or sympathy with the Turkish right-wing extremist movement Ülkücü and its ideology.
Courtesy of wolves is not prohibited in Germany
Due to the scandal related to the gesture, there was a lot of turmoil at the political level in the last few days as well. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs described UEFA’s investigation into Demiral as unacceptable. Not everyone who displays the sign of the Gray Wolf can be described as a right-wing extremist. Wolf courting is also not banned in Germany and the reactions of the German authorities are “xenophobic”.
Read more: Turkish player encourages wolf salute – why isn’t the gesture banned?
His wife defends Demiral: “My husband is not a racist”
This is also how Merih Demiral’s wife sees it, fiercely defending the Turkish national soccer player. “My husband is not a racist!” said Heidi Demiral to the Swiss newspaper “Blick”. Her husband is “friendly, open and tolerant,” said the 34-year-old Swiss woman, who was born, according to “Blick”, in Kosovo.
Heidi Demiral already spoke about the matter on Instagram on Thursday. “The wolf is the animal symbol of Türkiye. It has nothing to do with racism or fascism,” she wrote on her account: “Diversity is the beauty of our people and the strength of our history. Tolerance, kindness, love and generosity are fundamental values we teach our children.”
Football fans are called to the wolves’ salute
As a result of growing nationalism, representatives of the political center have recently used the wolf salute to address voters from more nationalist militias.
Turkish football ultras have encouraged fans in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium to display the controversial wolf salute during their team’s quarter-final match against the Netherlands. All supporters in the stands are invited to make the sign during the national anthem, he said in a call to Ardán X.