The Turkish authorities invited the German ambassador to Ankara today to protest the German minister's comments after the European Football Union (UEFA) launched an investigation against Turkish defender Merih Demiral at the European Championship in Germany.
"The German ambassador in Ankara was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because of this," Turkish diplomatic sources told France Press.
UEFA said today that it has opened an investigation against a player for an "alleged inappropriate goal celebration" at the European Championship after he flashed a hand sign linked to the ultra-nationalist group "Grey Wolves".
Demiral scored both goals for Turkey in the victory over Austria (2:1) in the round of XNUMX of the European Championship.
"Using European football as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable. We are waiting for UEFA to investigate the case and consider sanctions," said German Interior Minister Nancy Feser.
She said that "the symbol of Turkish right-wing extremists has no place in German stadiums."
In 2019, Demiral was one of 16 Turkish players reprimanded for military salutes at matches, when the country was leading a military offensive in Syria.
The Gray Wolves were founded as the youth wing of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, which is currently allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party.
In the decades since its founding, the group has often been linked to politically motivated violence, mostly against left-wing groups.
The "Grey Wolves" group is banned in France, while Austria has banned the group's salute, which is used by nationalists in Turkey.
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