EM 2024 - President Erdogan travels to Berlin for Turkey's quarter-final
## Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Turkey Game
After the sharp criticism of Merih Demiral's jubilee of the Turkish football national player at the EM, Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to make a short-term trip to Berlin to watch Turkey's quarter-final game against the Netherlands in the stadium. Erdogan cancelled his planned trip to Azerbaijan, as informed sources told the German Press Agency. In Turkish media, it was said that the reason was the debate about the so-called Wolfsgruss, which Demiral had shown with his jubilee after his second goal in Leipzig on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old Demiral formed the sign and symbol of the "Grey Wolves" with both hands. The "Grey Wolves" are referred to as the supporters of the right-wing extremist "Ulkuçu-Movement" in Germany, which is monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. In Turkey, the ultranationalist MHP is their political representation and coalition partner of the Islamo-conservative AKP of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The greeting usually expresses loyalty and sympathy with the movement and its ideology. Demiral had said that he wanted to express with the gesture only that he was proud to be Turkish and that there was no hidden message behind it.
Recently, the Wolfsgruss was also used in Turkey by parts of the opposition to appeal to nationalists - for example, in the election campaign of the former presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who belongs to the religious minority of the Alevites.
- During his trip to Berlin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan will have the opportunity to witness Turkey's quarter-final game against the Netherlands in the stadium, as he had previously canceled his planned trip to Azerbaijan due to the Wolfsgruss controversy.
- The German Press Agency reported that the reason behind Erdogan's cancelation was the debate surrounding Merih Demiral's Wolf greeting, a symbol of the Grey Wolves, a right-wing extremist movement in Germany.
- Despite Merih Demiral's claims that his gesture was simply an expression of his Turkish pride, the Wolf greeting has also been used in Turkish politics by parties like the MHP, a nationalist and ultranationalist political group that is a coalition partner of the AKP led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- The controversy surrounding the Wolf greeting has extended beyond Turkey, with figures like Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a former presidential candidate belonging to the Alevite religious minority, employing the gesture in his election campaign to appeal to nationalist sentiments.
