The grand staging of Erdogan and Özil falls apart
Provocations from Turkish President Erdogan give Berlin headaches, but his show fails at an Orange Party in the EU-Quarterfinal. Part of a grand production is also Mesut Ozil. In the end, a slimy feeling remains.
An innocent scene. And yet it hurts in the heart. Before the Olympiastadion in Berlin, a family lines up, who believe in the Turkish national team, to take a commemorative photo before the EU-quarterfinal, which the Netherlands eventually won with a score of 2:1 (0:1). From toddlers to grandparents, everyone is there. A few wear jerseys, others casual clothing, a few women wear headscarves, others have their hair uncovered. A normal Berlin family. Everyone smiles for the photo - and suddenly an approximately nine-year-old girl shows the wolf salute. She does it quickly, but looks around nervously at the same time. She knows that the gesture is something forbidden or bad, but exactly what, she certainly doesn't. She's too young for that.
A small scene shows that the political overshadows the entire EU-quarterfinal between Turkey and the Netherlands. All the provocations of the past few days and hours, the hateful scenes with Turkish-right-wing Wolf-Brigade thugs - under whose use in Turkey pogroms against Alevites, Syrian refugees, and other minorities have already been committed - banners and slogans from Saturday, they have won in this moment. They cast a shadow over the many peacefully celebrating fans, such as the little boy in the Spiderman full-body costume with a Turkish flag on his back, who packs his hip-hop dance moves. Or the girl in the Turkey jersey, filmed by her mother, while she dances wildly to Taylor Swift's world hit "Shake it off," which a student band with brass instruments performs brilliantly.
Part of this consuming provocation is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The famous Turkish president, known for his productions, cancels a trip to Azerbaijan and travels to Berlin instead to support his national team - and to bask in the attention of the crowd. A perfectly constructed power demonstration of the nationalist autocrat live on German television. In front of millions of viewers around the world.
Power demonstration by Erdogan
At first, everything seems orchestrated for the great Erdogan production. After a contingent of the Turkish embassy picks him and his wife Emine up at the airport, he is driven to the Olympiastadion in two Maybach limousines. Erdogan is warmly welcomed when he arrives 20 minutes before kick-off on the honorary tribune. He throws kisses into the crowd. Holds himself to his heart. Wants to show to the many Turkish fans: I love you all, you are my children, Papa is here.
Provocation is also when Erdogan summons Germany's ambassador to Turkey after German politics criticized the wolf salute of Merih Demiral. That he then flies to the Federal Republic without speaking to Chancellor Olaf Scholz or any other representative of the government is supposed to be a sign that he holds the reins and dictates. He doesn't let himself be commanded, the strong man is. Erdogan demonstrates his power, less towards Scholz and Co. than towards the homeland and electorate.
Ultimately, UEFA's ban against Demiral was also a way for Erdogan to delegitimize the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) as its Wolfsgruss sign is a partner of his AKP government. The President could not let this go unchecked. The MHP is the political arm of the Grey Wolves and a part of the Turkish government alongside Erdogan's AKP. Kamal Sido, a representative from the "Society for Threatened Peoples," told ntv.de: "I believe that the Grey Wolves' ideology is also the unofficial ideology of the Turkish state." Grey Wolves are referred to as supporters of the ultranationalist Ułkuçu movement, which is monitored by the German Constitutional Protection Agency in Germany.
Eren Güvercin, co-founder of the Alhambra Society, which advocates for an open inter-Muslim dialogue, stated before the match on ntv.de that Erdogan's visit was not just a normal attendance at a Turkish National Team football game. "He uses every opportunity to stage a show of strength for his supporters," so Güvercin. "After the debate about the Wolfsgruss after the Round of 16 match, it was clear that Erdogan would use this opportunity to stage himself as the leader of Turkey."
The fact that Erdogan canceled all his engagements abroad to be present at the game indicates that he is using provocations, either directly in the stadium or through statements around the game. "I assume that he wants to convey messages to the nationalist Turkish population through symbolism or gestures," says Sido further.
There is a great deal of symbolism when the Turkish National Anthem is played. Ultra and nationalist groups had called on Turkish fans to display the right-wing Wolfsgruss gesture during this time. Thousands comply. This mass provocation seemed to please Erdogan. A threatening gesture for all minorities - be they Kurds, Armenians, Jews, or Yazidis - who view the Grey Wolves in Turkey and Germany as enemy images.
Amidst a sea of Wolfsgruss gestures, not far from Erdogan on the honorary stand are tournament director Philipp Lahm, Dutch legends Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf, and Federal Minister of Economics and Technology Wolfgang Schmidt. "We always try to ensure that representatives of the German government are present," Chancellor Olaf Scholz had said earlier about Erdogan's visit to the EM.
Mesut Özil sits significantly closer to Erdogan, exactly one row behind him. They both listen to the hymn without performing the Wolfsgruss. Although Erdogan has done this before, and Özil himself presented a tattoo of the Grey Wolves on his chest in social media last year. The former German national player also flew to Berlin shortly beforehand and shared an Instagram story with a picture of Turkish national team player Merih Demiral celebrating the Wolfsgruss after the Austria game. He announced his arrival with a photo from the plane, "I am coming" is written on the image, which shows his designer suit and an expensive watch. Özil matched Erdogan in terms of staging.
## UEFA Ignores, No Prohibition of Wolf's Salute
The fact that right-wing gestures go unchecked is due to neither the Wolf's Salute nor the Grey Wolves being banned in Germany, despite a prohibition review being ongoing in the Federal Ministry of the Interior since 2020. "The problem of Turkish right-wing extremism," says Guvercin, "is often not taken seriously enough by politics. If we speak of a wall against right-wing extremism, it must also include Turkish right-wing extremism, as the Grey Wolves are well-organized in Germany."
The biggest problem, which becomes visible in Berlin every Saturday, according to the journalist and author, is: "Ankara tries to spread nationalist ideology, especially among young Turkish people in Germany, through an aggressive diaspora politics."
The Kurdish community in Germany also demands a ban on the gesture. "Fans adopt such signs, being right-wing extremist is considered cool among Turkish youth in Germany," said the Federal Chairman Ali Toprak in a statement. "Imagine an Austrian player had made a Hitler salute after scoring a goal."
The UEFA, meanwhile, ignores the massively Turkish-right-wing extremist gestures. They did not intervene, although they could have stopped the game before the kickoff according to their Three-Step Plan for discriminatory incidents. Instead, the TV images of the UEFA do not show the hateful scenes. Only in the stadium and on the internet do people see them. The association thus demonstrates that it cannot take its anti-discrimination campaign seriously, according to information from the "Tagesspiegel," but also wanted to avoid escalation.
Orange Crashes the Turkey Party
Erdogan has won a provocation round. For him, who the Grey Wolves see as a kind of leader, the arms are raised to the heavens with the Wolf's Salute in the evening. Just like at the demonstrations before the game, when the Berlin police intervened and initially stopped the fan march and then completely abandoned it due to persistent right-wing gestures. A group of black-clad Ultras chanted the slogan "We don't want refugees in our country" during the demonstration, according to videos on social media.
However, the sporting spectacle causes Erdogan and Ozil's power demonstration to deflate more and more. In the 35th minute, Samet Akaydin (he kisses the emblem on his jersey, makes no Wolf's Salute) scores through Stefan de Vrij (70') and an own goal by Mert Müldür (76') for the Netherlands. Now, the fans dance in orange, the entire block hops from left to right, while at Erdogan and Co., distorted mines and silence reign. With the loss and elimination, the effect of Erdogan's power demonstration is significantly reduced.
"Muddy Feeling" Remains
"Mulmiges Gefühl" bleibt [The muddy feeling remains]
After the final whistle, Erdogan looks into the Turkish cabinet and shakes hands with the players. Such images are also media-effective. However, he cannot score points with victory poses. Meanwhile, there are occasional disturbances, arrests, and horn honking in Berlin, but overall it remains calm. Mesut Özil disappears without a big appearance.
"Turkish football fans in Germany, who are passionate about their team, are facing a dilemma," Guvercin had said before the match. "You cannot simply enjoy football due to the politicization of football by Turkish right-wing extremists. One always has a slimy feeling." This dilemma is now over with this EM.
However, the slimy feeling remains. For instance, when a nine-year-old girl shows a right-wing salute, not knowing what harm it causes.
- Despite the UEFA ban, the right-wing extremist gesture was prevalent among Turkish fans during the European Football Championship 2024 quarterfinal between Turkey and the Netherlands, leading to a muddy feeling for many, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Netherlands' fans.
- Mesut Özil, a German-Turkish football player, was seated nearby President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the game but did not participate in the Wolf's Salute, which had sparked controversy in the past.
- The tension between Turkey and Europe, exemplified by incidents like the Wolf's Salute, puts right-wing extremism in the spotlight, raising concerns among German politicians and organizations about the growing influence of Turkish right-wing extremism within the Turkish diaspora in Europe.
