Turkish national player Merih Demiral caused a stir with his celebration gesture in the 2-1 European Championship round of 16 match against Austria. After scoring his second goal on Tuesday evening in the Leipzig stadium, the 26-year-old made the so-called wolf salute with both hands, a hand sign and symbol of the “Grey Wolves”.
Merih Demiral shows the so-called wolf salute.
Photo: dpa/Sebastian Christoph Gollnow
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Before the European Championship round of 16 match, Austrian football fans caused a scandal by singing a racist song.
This is what Merih Demiral says about using the wolf greeting
“The way I celebrated has something to do with my Turkish identity,” said Demiral after midnight in the European Championship stadium in Leipzig. “That’s why I made this gesture. I saw people in the stadium who also made this gesture.”
There is “no hidden message” behind it. “We are all Turks, I am very proud to be Turkish and that is the meaning of this gesture,” he said. “I just wanted to demonstrate how happy I am and how proud I am.” Hopefully there will be more opportunities to show this gesture.
These are the “Grey Wolves” in Turkey
The supporters of the right-wing extremist “Ülkücü movement”, which is monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Germany, are called “Grey Wolves”. In Turkey, the ultra-nationalist MHP is their political representative and an ally of the Islamic-conservative AKP of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP Pool via AP/dpa
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Demiral scored the fastest goal in the knockout round of a European Championship in Leipzig after just 57 seconds and in the 59th minute. He was voted “Man of the Match”. Turkey will play against the Netherlands in Berlin on Saturday for a place in the semi-finals of the European Championship.
Demiral has already attracted attention with another goal celebration
Demiral was involved in a controversial political scene in 2019 when he celebrated a goal. At the time, the Turkish military had launched an offensive in northern Syria. In the European Championship qualifier against France at the Stade de France, Kaan Ayhan – then playing for Fortuna Düsseldorf – scored the equalizer late on. After his goal, many national players lined up and saluted, including Demiral.
For the first time, Turkish national players saluted in the match against Albania (from left): Yusuf Yazici, Cenk Tosun, Merih Demiral, Mehmet Zeki Celik and Hakan Calhanoglu.
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Ayhan himself did not repeat the gesture – and therefore got into a dispute with Demiral on the pitch, as could be seen on TV images.
