Goal celebration affair: Turkish ambassador summoned - Erdogan visits quarter-final
The appointment took place on Thursday morning. The Foreign Office wrote on its online service X, "As hosts of the European Championship, we wish that sport brings us together."
On Wednesday, the Turkish government summoned the German ambassador in Ankara in response to criticism from the German government regarding Demiral's Wolfsgruß gesture by the Turkish national player during the goal celebration.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will not receive Erdogan during his visit to Germany. "A meeting between Turkish President Erdogan and Federal Chancellor Scholz on Saturday is not planned," a government spokesperson stated in Berlin on Thursday evening in response to a query.
In the view of the chairman of the Kurdish Community in Germany, Ali Ertan Toprak, Erdogan should not be given a grand stage during his visit. "Autocrats should stay at home," Toprak told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). "But it's likely that the visit of the game cannot be prevented." Toprak fears that the visit will "once again fuel Turkish nationalism in the stadiums and on the streets."
The chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany, Gökay Sofuoglu, sees no reason for criticism of Erdogan's EM visit. "If Erdogan wants to come to Berlin, then he should come," Sofuoglu told RND. "There's no reason for alarm."
Other presidents and kings come to the games of their teams as well. As Orban came to the game of the Hungarian team in Stuttgart, no one got agitated, Sofuoglu added, looking at the Hungarian prime minister.
CDU interior politician Stefan Heck criticized the visit of the Turkish head of state as interference in Germany's internal affairs. The visit to the EM game Turkey vs. the Netherlands is a "clear provocation," Heck told Welt TV. "They should assume that Mr. Erdogan does not come to Berlin for sports reasons."
Defender Demiral showed the nationalist gesture with both hands after his second goal in the 2:1 win for his team against Austria in the Achtelfinal game in Leipzig on Tuesday evening. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) demanded that UEFA examine sanctions. Ankara defended Demiral. "The reaction of the German authorities towards Mr. Demiral is foreigner-hostile," the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated.
The so-called Wolfsgruß is considered a symbol of the right-wing Turkish organization Grey Wolves. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the organization, also known as the Ülkücü Movement, as a right-wing extremist group.
Representatives of the parties in Germany condemned the gesture by Demiral. "It is completely unacceptable to misuse the stage of the Football European Championship by displaying right-wing symbols and transporting racist thought content," Mende from the SPD declared. "The supposed apology by the player Merih Demiral, that he only wanted to express his 'Turkish identity,' is also unacceptable."
CDU politician Christoph de Vries stressed: "Football and fascism are a blatant contradiction". Showing right-wing extremist symbols is unjustifiable. Green Bundestag member Kassem Taher Saleh stated that those who give the Wolf's Salute on the field have "not only lost respect for the sport, but fundamentally for people". Uefa must take immediate action.
- The EURO 2020, organized by UEFA, has become a subject of discussion due to a goal celebration affair.
- The European Football Championship in Germany has sparked controversy over a nationalist gesture made by a Turkish player during a goal celebration.
- The incident took place during Turkey's Achtelfinal game against Austria, with defender Demiral making the Wolfsgruß gesture after scoring a goal.
- The EURO 2020, also known as the European Championship, is currently being hosted in multiple cities across Europe.
- The Turkish national team's game against the Netherlands in the Quarterfinals is expected to see a visit from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- The visit of Erdogan to the game has been met with disgruntlement from some political leaders in Germany.
- Gökay Sofuoglu, the chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany, defended Erdogan's visit, stating that there's no reason for alarm.
- The Wolfsgruß gesture is considered a symbol of the right-wing Turkish organization, Grey Wolves, which is classified as a right-wing extremist group by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Germany.
- Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has demanded that UEFA examine sanctions against Demiral for his gesture.
- The AA, a Turkish news agency, reported on the incident, stating that the reaction of the German authorities towards Demiral was foreigner-hostile.
- CDU interior politician Stefan Heck criticized Erdogan's EM visit as interference in Germany's internal affairs.
- Editorial network Germany, RND, interviewed Ali Ertan Toprak, the chairman of the Kurdish Community in Germany, who expressed concern that Erdogan's visit could fuel Turkish nationalism.
