Turkey star facing UEFA ban after making ‘banned nationalist gesture’ against Austria

Merih Demiral performed the gesture after scoring.

A Turkey player is facing a UEFA suspension after he was accused of making a ‘banned ultra-nationalistic gesture’ during a match.

On Tuesday Turkey claimed a historic 2-1 victory against Austria in their Euro 2024 round-of-16 clash, setting up a quarter-final meeting with the Netherlands.

Defender Merih Demiral was the unexpected hero, scoring a brace having previously only scored twice on the international stage.

The 26-year-old scored the fasted goal knockout-stage goal in European Championship history when he stabbed home following an Arda Guler corner, before he headed home another corner from the 19-year-old.

However, Demiral caused controversy with a gesture he made while celebrating his second goal.

The Al-Ahli defender performed a ‘Wolf’s Salute’, a gesture associated with the Grey Wolves – a far-right extremist group in Turkey.

The Grey Wolves, officially called Ulku Ocaklari, is the youth movement of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) which is in coalition with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.

In Germany, Constitutional Protection Agency regards supporters of the Grey Wolves as extremists.

The gesture is banned in France and Austria. The latter introduced the ban in 2019 after the Austrian parliament passed a law prohibiting symbols of “extremist organisations” to prevent terror propaganda. Performing the gesture can result in a fine of up to €4,000.

In 2019, the Turkish government criticised Austria’s ban, claiming that it equates a symbol of a legal Turkish political party with that of the PKK, a Kurdish militant organisation that is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the EU.

After the match, Demiral explained why he performed the gesture.

“I had a specific celebration in mind, something connected to my Turkish identity. I am incredibly proud to be Turkish, and I felt that pride deeply after scoring,” he said.

“I wanted to express that, and I’m very happy I did. Our fans are proud of us. I saw them doing the gesture in the stands, and it made me want to do it even more. I am very happy.”

On Wednesday UEFA confirmed that “an investigation has been opened in accordance with Article 31(4) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations in relation to the alleged inappropriate behaviour of the Turkish Football Federation player, Merih Demiral.”

UEFA’s Safety and Security regulations state: “The promotion or announcement, by any means, of political messages or of any other political actions inside or in the immediate vicinity of the stadium is strictly prohibited before, during and after the match.”

European football’s governing body are also currently investigating the crotch-grabbing gesture Jude Bellingham made after scoring in England’s 2-1 win against Slovakia on Sunday.