According to “Bild”, Turkey’s Merih Demiral has been banned for the “wolf salute” shown at Euro 2024. Meanwhile, England’s Jude Bellingham had to pay
Two players have caused scandal in their nations’ respective European Championship round of 16 matches. Turkey’s Merih Demiral celebrated his 2:0 goal against Austria with the “wolf salute”, which is considered a symbol of the far-right organization Grey Wolves. He also posted a picture of his “goal celebration” on social media. UEFA subsequently launched an investigation due to “alleged inappropriate behavior.”
According to “Bild”, UEFA has now reached its verdict in the case. Demiral must sit out two matches. This concerns the quarter-final against the Netherlands on Saturday, July 6, 9 p.m., as well as a possible semi-final against England or Switzerland on Wednesday, July 10, 9 p.m. Demiral would then be eligible to play again in a possible final on Sunday, July 14, 9 p.m.
However, the Turkish association called the news of the suspension a hoax. They have until Friday morning to submit their defense plea. The Turkish Ministry of Communications also wrote on Platform X in the evening that the ban was misinformation. UEFA initially did not want to comment on this on Thursday evening.
The wolf salute is a hand sign and symbol of the Turkish far-right and ultra-nationalist organization “Grey Wolves”. Neither the organization nor the salute are banned in Germany. However, the “Grey Wolves” are under observation by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) had sharply criticized Demiral’s cheers. Using the European Championships “as a platform for racism” was “completely unacceptable”, the Social Democrat wrote on social media. The scandal subsequently led to diplomatic tensions. Following the summoning of the German ambassador in Ankara, the Foreign Office summoned the Turkish envoy for a report on Thursday.
The Englishman Jude Bellingham has also recently been the subject of controversy. The Real Madrid midfielder scored with a bicycle kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time to make it 1-1 against Slovakia, thus saving England from extra time. Bellingham celebrated with an obscene gesture towards the Slovakian bench.
Bellingham, however, contradicted this assessment and said that he had made the gesture, in which he first grabbed his mouth and then his crotch, as an “inside joke” towards the spectators, where some of his friends would have been. “Nothing but respect for what Slovakia showed on the pitch today,” he wrote on “X”.
However, Uefa apparently did not follow Bellingham’s version of the story. According to “Bild”, the Englishman must pay a fine of at least 20,000 euros. Unlike Demiral, however, he will be allowed to play in his nation’s quarter-final (Saturday, July 6, 6 p.m., against Switzerland). with sid