Turkey's European Championship elimination overshadowed by mass wolf salute gestures
Erdogan drove to the stadium on Saturday after landing, where he followed the elimination of the Turkish national team on the tribune with his wife Emine. Wolfgang Schmidt, Chancellor's Minister of the SPD, was also present at the venue. However, there was no official reception by the German government for Erdogan.
The match was overshadowed by security concerns and diplomatic tensions between Berlin and Ankara prior to the event. Turkish defender Merih Demiral showed the Wolfsgruß gesture after his second goal in the quarterfinal match against Austria and was suspended for the semifinal on Saturday.
Former German national player Mesut Özil posted a picture of Demiral's Wolfsgruß gesture on Instagram before the game. The gesture is considered a symbol of the right-wing Turkish organization Grey Wolves, although it is not banned in Germany.
The chairman of the Kurdish community, Ali Ertan Toprak, demanded a ban on the Grey Wolves. He expected "the German government to ban the Grey Wolves and their symbols in Germany," Toprak said on Deutschlandfunk on Saturday. The German government apparently does not do this, as it "does not want to anger Turkey."
The Federal Ministry of the Interior stated to AFP on inquiry that it could "not comment on possible prohibition procedures in order not to endanger possible future measures." What these could be, a spokeswoman left open.
"We must finally also recognize and combat Turkish, migrant right-wing extremism in Germany," demanded community chief Toprak. The Grey Wolves would "above all incite the youth here against Germany with nationalism." Toprak referred to the fact that the Bundestag had already called on the Federal Ministry of the Interior at the end of 2020 to examine the possibility of a ban on the Grey Wolves.
Green politician Jan Philipp Albrecht called the Grey Wolves "the largest right-wing extremist organization in Germany." "Their currently massively displayed Wolfsgruß shows that there is an urgent need for greater attention and clearer lines against these racist and dangerous actors in Germany," wrote Albrecht, who is the chairman of the party-affiliated Heinrich Böll Foundation, at X.
According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, there are around 12,500 supporters of the Grey Wolves in Germany. The largest association is the Federation of Turkish Democratic Idealist Associations in Germany e.V., which is considered an offshoot of the Erdogan-allied party MHP.
The police broke up the fan march of Turkish fans from Berlin's Breitscheidplatz to the stadium before the game. Law enforcement officers initially stopped the march of Turkish fans due to the "massive" display of the Wolfsgruß sign, later interrupting it again and eventually ending it.
In the later course of the evening, the situation for the Berlin police calmed down, as a police spokeswoman said on Sunday morning. The police did not consider the game to be a risky game despite the security concerns. After the elimination of Turkey, the night was quiet for the police forces, as a police spokeswoman said on Sunday morning.
- Mesut Özil, a former German national player, shared a picture of Merih Demiral's Wolf salute gesture on Instagram before the quarterfinal match against Austria.
- The Turkish defender, Merih Demiral, was suspended for the semifinal due to showing the Wolf salute gestures after scoring his second goal in the match against Austria.
- The Federal Ministry of the Interior in Germany refused to comment on possible prohibition procedures for the Grey Wolves to avoid jeopardizing future measures.
- Jan Philipp Albrecht, a Green politician, labeled the Grey Wolves as the largest right-wing extremist organization in Germany, requiring immediate attention and clearer lines against them.
- Ali Ertan Toprak, the chairman of the Kurdish community, demanded a ban on the Grey Wolves, blaming them for stirring nationalism among youth in Germany.
- Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, attended the elimination match of the Turkish national team in Austria with his wife Emine, despite diplomatic tensions between Berlin and Ankara.
- The SPD, represented by Wolfgang Schmidt, the Chancellor's Minister, was present in the venue, but Erdogan did not receive an official reception by the German government.
- The Grey Wolves, a right-wing Turkish organization, is known for displaying the Wolfsgruss gesture, considered a symbol of anti-Kurdish nationalism, although it is not officially banned in Germany.
- According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, there are around 12,500 supporters of the Grey Wolves in Germany, with the Federation of Turkish Democratic Idealist Associations being the largest association.
- The police in Berlin prevented the fan march of Turkish fans from Breitscheidplatz to the stadium because of the massive display of the Wolfsgruß sign, interrupting the march and eventually ending it before the match.
