UEFA is apparently cracking down. Demiral is to be sanctioned with a ban, writes the newspaper "Bild". Turkish media report that the case has not yet been finally decided.
04.07.2024, 21:52
05.07.2024, 09:40
dpa
According to a media report, the wolf salute shown during the goal celebration against Austria will apparently have serious consequences for Merih Demiral. According to the newspaper "Bild", UEFA has banned the Turkish national team defender for two matches.
The 26-year-old would therefore miss his team's European Championship quarter-final on Saturday in Berlin against the Netherlands (21:00) and a possible semi-final. However, Turkish media then spread information from the Turkish association that a decision had not yet been made in the case. UEFA initially refused to comment on the matter in the evening.
Demiral had formed the hand sign and symbol of the "gray wolves" with both hands after his goal in Leipzig during the 2:1 win against Austria in the round of 16, causing much outrage. The supporters of the right-wing extremist "Ülkücü Movement", which is monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Germany, are known as the "Gray Wolves". In Turkey, the ultra-nationalist MHP is its political representative and ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-conservative AKP.
"Bild": fine for Bellingham
Demiral had also initially received support from his home country. The leader of the ultra-nationalist MHP, Devlet Bahceli, described the initiation of the proceedings by UEFA as a "provocation". The move was "extremely biased and wrong".
The Turkish Foreign Ministry had also condemned the investigation and described it as unacceptable. Not every person who displays the Grey Wolves sign can be described as right-wing extremist. Moreover, the wolf salute is not banned in Germany and the reactions of the German authorities were "xenophobic". The ministry also summoned the German ambassador on Wednesday.
According to Bild, the Englishman Jude Bellingham has also been fined. The former BVB player in the service of Real Madrid will not be banned after making an obscene gesture while celebrating a goal, but will receive a fine of at least 20,000 euros.
