UEFA hands Turkey defender Merih Demiral two-match suspension following controversial goal celebration
Demiral scored twice in Turkey’s 2-1 win and celebrated by making a gesture known as the “wolf salute,” which is associated with the Turkish right-wing extremist group “Grey Wolves.”
UEFA announced the decision to suspend Demiral on Friday, a day before Turkey’s quarterfinal against the Netherlands.
In its statement, UEFA said its appeals body charged the defender “for failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute.”
The Turkish Football Federation confirmed to CNN that its legal department is working on an appeal to the suspension.
Following the win against Austria, Demiral posted a picture of himself making the gesture on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Happy is one who calls themselves a Turk,” the defender captioned the post.
“I had a certain specific celebration in mind. That’s what I did. It has to do with the Turkish identity because I’m very proud to be a Turk. And I felt that to the fullest after the second goal, so I ended up doing that gesture,” Demiral told reporters after the game. “I’m very happy that I did that.”
Germany summoned Turkey’s ambassador in Berlin Thursday in a tit for tat over the celebration after Turkey recalled the German ambassador in Ankara.
German representatives discussed the incident with the Turkish ambassador in Berlin, the German foreign ministry added.
Germany’s Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, warned Wednesday “the symbols of Turkish right-wing extremists have no place in our stadiums” and said that “using the European football championships as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable.”
Faeser added that the “Grey Wolves” group is under surveillance in Germany.
CNN’s German affiliate network NTV reported Thursday that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is set to come to Berlin on Saturday for Turkey’s game against the Netherlands.
CNN’s Scott McLean has contributed to this report.
Despite the suspension, Demiral expressed his love for football and being Turkish, revealing, "I had a specific celebration in mind and it represented my Turkish identity, I'm proud to be a Turk." During Turkey's previous win against Austria, Demiral was seen celebrating with the controversial "wolf salute," a gesture associated with the Turkish right-wing extremist group "Grey Wolves."
