Demiral faces a ban for his celebration

Turkish international Merih Demiral caused a stir with his celebratory gesture during the 2:1 win against Austria in the European Championship round of 16. After scoring his second goal on Tuesday evening in the Leipzig stadium, the 26-year-old formed the so-called wolf salute with both hands, a hand sign and symbol of the "gray wolves".

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 their political representative and ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-conservative AKP.

"The way I celebrated has something to do with my Turkish identity," said Demiral after midnight in Leipzig's European Championship stadium. "That's why I made this gesture. I saw people in the stadium who also made this gesture." There was "no hidden message" behind it. "We are all Turks, I am very proud to be Turkish and that is the point of this gesture," he said. "I just wanted to demonstrate how happy I am and how proud I am." There will hopefully be more opportunities to show this gesture.

Demiral himself posted the picture on social media and wrote: "Happy to be Turkish!"

Is Demiral facing a ban?

Demiral had already caused a stir in the past with his celebratory gestures. In 2019, he celebrated several goals for the Turkish national team with the military salute.

In Leipzig, Demiral scored the fastest goal in the knockout round of a European Championship after just 57 seconds and in the 59th minute. He was voted Man of the Match. Turkey will now play the Netherlands in Berlin on Saturday for a place in the semi-finals of the European Championship.

UEFA has now opened an investigation against Demiral. UEFA announced on Wednesday morning that the 26-year-old had behaved inappropriately. If Demiral is punished, he could face consequences for the upcoming quarter-final against the Netherlands.