European Football Championship - Turkish Ultras: Fans should show wolf salute in Berlin
Turkish football ultras called on fans at the Berlin Olympiastadion during the EURO 2020 quarter-final match of their team against the Netherlands to display the controversial Wolf's Salute. All supporters on the tribune were invited to make the gesture during the national anthem, according to a call on the platform X.
Turkish national player Merih Demiral celebrated his second goal in the EURO 2020 round of 16 against Austria with the so-called Wolf's Salute, whose origin is associated with a right-wing extremist movement. He may face a ban for this.
Due to the controversy surrounding the gesture, there had been intense political debate in the past few days. The Turkish Foreign Ministry deemed the UEFA investigation against Demiral unacceptable. The Turkish Ultra-Grouping emphasized that the Wolf's Salute is not to be understood as racist but "the national symbol of Turkishness".
Police speak of a "Nonplusultra-High-Risk Game"
The Wolf's Salute usually expresses allegiance or sympathy with the Turkish ultranationalist Ułkułcu movement and its ideology. In Turkey, it is used by the ultranationalist MHP party, which is a partner of the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
In the context of rising nationalism, recently even representatives of the political center have used the symbol to appeal to voters from nationalist circles. An example is the former Erdoğan challenger and Middle-Left Politician Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu during the 2023 Presidential Election campaign in Turkey. In Germany, the Ułkułcu movement is monitored by the Constitutional Protection Agency.
Amidst the commotion over Demiral's gesture, Erdoğan announced his visit to the quarter-final match in Berlin on Saturday. A spokesperson for the Berlin Police Union described the game as a "Nonplusultra-High-Risk Game".
- The fan group of the Turkish national team urged fans at the Olympic Stadium Berlin during the EM quarter-final against the Netherlands to perform the Wolf's Salute, a controversial gesture.
- Merih Demiral, a member of the Turkish soccer team, performed the Wolf's Salute after scoring his second goal against Austria at the EURO 2020, a gesture associated with right-wing extremism.
- The Turkish Ultra-Grouping defends the Wolf's Salute as a symbol of Turkishness, not a racist sentiment, despite its association with extremism.
- The Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized UEFA's investigation into Merih Demiral's EURO 2020 controversy, calling it unacceptable.
- Prior to the quarter-final match between Germany and Turkey at the European Football Championship, the Berlin Police Union labeled it as a "Nonplusultra-High-Risk Game."
- In Austria, the Ułkułcu movement, which advocates for Turkish ultranationalism, uses the Wolf's Salute, and the German Constitutional Protection Agency keeps tabs on it.
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the leader of Turkey, announced his attendance at the quarter-final match in Berlin, amidst the controversy stirred by Merih Demiral's Wolf's Salute.
- Politicians in Turkey have increasingly used the Wolf's Salute to garner support from nationalist circles, such as Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu during the 2023 Presidential Election campaign in Turkey.
