Turkish appeal against UEFA ban is not possible
According to reports, Turkey intends to lodge a protest against the two-match ban imposed on defender Merih Demiral following his Wolfsgrüß celebration. However, the rules of the European Football Confederation (UEFA) make it clear that the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is not competent in cases where a player is suspended for up to two games or one month.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has no way to appeal the two-game ban imposed on defender Merih Demiral due to his Wolfsgrüß celebration. According to Article 63 of the UEFA Statutes, the CAS is not competent for cases involving suspensions of less than three games.
"Since the appeal and application procedure to the CAS is blocked for penalties under three games, we have been deprived of our appeal rights due to this two-game ban," said TFF President Mehmet Büyükekşi in a statement. As a result, Demiral will miss the quarterfinal against the Netherlands (Saturday, 9 pm/RTL, MagentaTV and live at ntv.de) and potentially a semifinal as well.
A reporter from the public broadcaster TRT had previously reported that the Turkish Football Federation would appeal to the CAS. There is a fast-track procedure specifically for the European Football Championship, with a decision expected to be made by Friday evening. However, this step is now moot. The UEFA imposed the ban on the 26-year-old defender due to his "failure to comply with the general conduct rules, violation of the fundamental principles of good conduct, misuse of sports events for demonstrations not of a sporting nature, and bringing the game of football into disrepute."
Demiral formed the "Grauen Wölfe" symbol with both hands after scoring his second goal against Austria in Leipzig, causing widespread outrage. The "Grauen Wölfe" are referred to as the supporters of the ultranationalist "Grey Wolves" movement in Germany, which is monitored by the Constitutional Protection Agency. In Turkey, the ultranationalist MHP is their political representation and alliance partner of the Islamo-conservative AKP of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Fan call makes police active
Due to the controversy surrounding the gesture, there has been intense political debate in recent days. The Turkish Foreign Ministry described the UEFA investigation into Demiral as unacceptable. Not every person who displays the Wolfsgrüß sign can be labeled as right-wing extremist. In Germany, the Wolfsgrüß is not banned, and the reactions of German authorities are "xenophobic." In the context of growing nationalism, however, even representatives of the political center have recently used the Wolfsgrüß to appeal to voters from nationalist milieus.
As "Scandal" labeled the Turkish broadcaster TRT the decision of the UEFA to suspend Demiral for two games. A commentator of the broadcaster Habertürk spoke of a "racist" motivated decision. The hashtag #BeFairUEFA takes the top spot on the platform X shortly after the announcement in Germany and worldwide. For the game against Oranje, a spontaneous visit of the President Erdogan to the Olympiastadion is expected as a result of the disputes.
Moreover, a provocative call from Turkish ultras is heating up the "Nonplusultra-Highriskgame" in the EURO 2020 Quarterfinals between Turkey and the Netherlands. On the platform X, they called on fans in the Berlin Olympiastadion to display the Wolf Salute during the National Anthem. The sports aspect is almost completely overshadowed. The excitement among the around 200,000 people living in Berlin with Turkish roots was also somewhat dampened. "This is really very unfortunate," said Vorstandssprecher Safer Çinar from the Turkish Union in Berlin-Brandenburg (TBB). He criticized Demiral for his actions. "What the Young man did," he said, "is obviously nonsense."
The Turkish Football Federation initially planned to appeal the two-game ban against Merih Demiral at the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but Article 63 of UEFA Statutes restricts CAS competence for suspensions under three games. Despite the fast-track procedure for the European Football Championship, Demiral's ban remains in place, as Turkey's protest against UEFA's decision is no longer feasible.
The banned defender, Merih Demiral, is set to miss Turkey's European Football Championship 2024 quarterfinal match against the Netherlands, following his controversial 'Wolfsgrüß' celebration during the EURO 2020, which led to a two-game suspension by UEFA.
