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Soccer-Turkish player's conservative 'wolf' goal celebration sparks furore

European soccer's governing body UEFA opened an investigation on Wednesday into a wolf salute goal celebration by Turkey centre back Merih Demiral which Germany condemned as racist due to its far best associations, prompting a rebuke from Ankara.

The 26-year-old protector imitated the shape of a wolf's head with his fingers after his 2nd goal in Turkey's sensational 2-1 win over Austria in the last-16 of Euro 2024.

The gesture is linked to the Grey Wolves, an ultra-nationalist youth branch of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an ally of President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Celebration.

The signs of Turkish conservative extremists have no place in our arenas, Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stated in a post on X. Using the European Football Championship as a platform for racism is totally unacceptable.

Developed in the 1960s, the Grey Wolves were associated with political violence in between leftists and nationalists that eliminated some 5,000 people around the time of a 1980 coup.

The group is disallowed in France and its sign is prohibited in Austria. The Grey Wolves are also under security in Germany, Faeser included.

UEFA stated it would look into the alleged inappropriate behaviour of Demiral.

It has actually been punishing misconduct during the tournament, banning Albania's Mirlind Daku for two video games after he led fans in offending chants, and examining England's Jude Bellingham for a crotch-grabbing gesture.

Turkey's foreign ministry said UEFA's probe was inappropriate which German authorities' approach to Demiral involved xenophobia.

We condemn the politically-motivated reactions to making use of a historical and cultural sign, in a manner that does not target anybody, throughout the celebrations of pleasure at a sporting event, it said.

The ministry also summoned Germany's ambassador to Ankara over the conflict, a Turkish diplomatic source stated.

'HAPPY TO BE TURKISH'

Elated by his man-of-the-match efficiency, Demiral informed press reporters he had planned the gesture.

I had a celebration in mind about being Turkish. I did that (gesture). I am really proud to be a Turk, I felt that to my bones after scoring the objective, that is why I wanted to do something like that, he said after the match.

I am very pleased to have actually done that, all the fans take pride in us. I saw individuals in the audience doing that. I wanted to do it after seeing them.

The German Israeli Society, which explained the Grey Wolves as a threat to Jews in addition to Armenians, Greeks and Kurds, gotten in touch with German authorities to prohibit the group.

The ideological supremacy of these fascist nationalists jeopardises public security, its president Volker Beck stated in a statement.

In Turkey, the ruling AK celebration and its MHP ally both protected Demiral and said the reaction ran out percentage.

AK celebration representative Omer Celik said those worried about racism and fascism need to concentrate on recent elections around the continent where the far ideal has been on the rise.

The Grey Wolf sign made by our kid Merih after hitting the net is the Turkish nation's message to the world, and UEFA's launch of an examination in this context is both ill-intentioned and part of a chain of provocations that have actually gained dangerous ground in current days, added MHP leader Devlet Bahceli.

The incident coincided with the start of a trial in Turkey of 22 individuals over the murder of former Grey Wolves leader Sinan Ates, who was gunned down in Ankara in late 2022.

(source: Reuters)