Turkish hero Merih Demiral faces possible suspension for quarter-final against Netherlands

Merih Demiral may face a suspension. The Turkish defender was the absolute hero in the round of 16 against Austria (1-2 win) with two goals, but then made a very controversial gesture when celebrating his goal.

After scoring his second goal, Demiral made a striking gesture. The Turkish central defender referred to the Grey Wolves, an ultra-nationalist group affiliated with the far-right Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Various media, including BILDspeak of an absolute disgrace. In 2019, the Austrian parliament even passed the law that bans symbols of “extremist organizations” in the country, in order to counter terrorist propaganda, according to the government. In Germany, a ban is now also being discussed.

People are furious on social media and several journalists are calling for a suspension against Demiral. Some human rights activists and politicians even call the salute the equivalent of a Nazi salute and therefore UEFA should ban Demiral from the European Championship, it is said.

“As much as I am delighted about Turkey’s victory, I cannot remain silent about this,” writes Eren Güvercin, a German journalist, on X. “The scorer of both Turkish goals brings the far-right Grey Wolves salute onto the pitch. Will that be a suspension, UEFA?” he addresses the European Football Association.

It cannot be ruled out that UEFA will indeed look into this. The European Football Association is very focused on unwanted political expressions during the tournament. Earlier this tournament, Albanian Mirlind Daku was suspended for two European Championship matches because he encouraged Albanian fans to express insulting texts about Serbia and North Macedonia after the match against Croatia.

Demiral's response

Demiral is unaware of any wrongdoing and foresaw BILD of a reaction. “I am very happy that I scored two goals. How I scored the fourth had to do with my Turkish identity. I saw people in the stadium making that gesture too,” he said afterwards.

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