BERLIN — UEFA suspended Turkish player Merih Demiral for two matches on Friday for making a controversial gesture at the European Championships, an incident that has sparked a diplomatic dispute between Turkey and hosts Germany.
The suspension means Demiral will miss Saturday’s quarter-final against the Netherlands and the semi-final if Turkey progresses.
The Turkish Football Federation joined Turkish government officials in condemning the suspension but said it could not be appealed because it was for less than three matches. Leaders of Turkey’s nationalist parties called on the team to boycott Saturday’s match and return home unless UEFA’s “shameful decision” was overturned.
After scoring his second goal in Turkey’s round of 16 win over Austria, Demiral made the Turkish nationalist sign with his hands, a sign associated with the Turkish ultranationalist group Uluk Ocaklari, also known as the “Grey Wolves.”
Demiral said it was a pure expression of national pride and he hoped there would be “more opportunities to perform the same act again.”
But German Interior Minister Nancy Faser condemned it as “racism”, while Turkish-German politician Cem Ozdemir said the act “symbolised terrorism and fascism”.
Their comments drew sharp condemnation from Turkish authorities and led to the German ambassador being summoned on Wednesday.
UEFA said it suspended Demiral for “failure to abide by the code of conduct, breaching the basic rules of respectful behaviour, using a sporting event for unsporting behaviour and bringing the sport of football into disrepute”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who rescheduled a visit to Azerbaijan to watch Saturday’s quarter-final, said before the decision that the 26-year-old defender had simply expressed “excitement” after scoring the second goal.
Turkish Football Federation president Mehmet Buyukekci called the decision politically motivated and accused European football’s governing body of “double standards.”
“The two-match suspension is grossly disproportionate compared to the fines and suspended sentences given for more serious offences, such as racist behaviour in the stands,” Hürriyet quoted Buyukekci as saying.
Buyukekci denied Turkish media reports that the Turkish Football Federation would take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, saying the window for appeal was closed for suspensions of less than three matches.
“The two-match suspension took away our right to appeal,” he said.
Turkey’s foreign ministry said the decision “strengthened the perception that there was a growing tendency in some European countries to engage in prejudiced behaviour against foreigners.”
Demiral was one of 16 Turkish players disciplined for giving a military salute during a match during Turkey’s 2019 military offensive in Syria.
The Grey Wolves were founded as the youth wing of Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which is now aligned with President Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party. In the decades since its founding in the 1960s, the group has been accused of politically motivated violence, mainly against left-wing groups.
MHP leader Devlet Bahceli said the team should miss Saturday’s match if UEFA’s “shameful decision” was not overturned.
“At this stage, it is the moral and national expectation that our national football team will not play in the match against the Netherlands and thus demonstrate our democratic protest,” he said.
