A controversial gesture made by Turkiye player Merih Demiral at soccer's European Championship has ignited a diplomatic brouhaha between the country and host nation Germany.
Turkiye summoned the German ambassador on Wednesday to protest German interior minister Nancy Faeser's condemnation of Demiral鈥檚 goal celebration the night before, when the player displayed a hand sign associated with an ultra-nationalist group.
Demiral scored both goals Tuesday in a 2-1 win over Austria to earn Turkiye's place in the quarterfinals.
After scoring the second goal he made a sign with each hand that is used by Turkish nationalists and associated with the Turkish ultra-nationalist organization Ulku Ocaklari, which is more widely known as the Gray Wolves.
Faeser urged UEFA to punish the player for making the gesture.
鈥淭he symbols of Turkish right-wing extremists have no place in our stadiums. Using the soccer European Championship as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable,鈥 Faeser said on X.
Federal minister Cem 脰zdemir, a German politician of Turkish descent, said Demiral's gesture is 鈥渆xtreme right" and "stands for terror, fascism.鈥
UEFA said it was investigating Demiral's 鈥渁lleged inappropriate behavior.鈥 The soccer body did not outline when the case might conclude. Turkiye鈥檚 next game is against the Netherlands in Berlin on Saturday.
The spokesman for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan鈥檚 party, Omer Celik, said Faeser鈥檚 comments and UEFA鈥檚 investigation are 鈥渦nacceptable.鈥
鈥淚t would be more appropriate for those looking for racism and fascism to focus on the recent election results in different European countries,鈥 Celik wrote on X.
Turkiye鈥檚 Foreign Ministry also condemned the investigation as a politically motivated reaction 鈥渢o the use of a historical and cultural symbol鈥 during the goal celebration.
A ministry statement said the gesture is not banned in Germany and noted that the German authority which safeguards the constitution had ruled in September 2023 that not everyone making the Gray Wolf sign could be classified as a far-right extremist.
鈥淲e consider that the reactions shown by the German authorities toward Mr. Demiral themselves contain xenophobia,鈥 the ministry said.
After Tuesday's game, Demiral said his gesture was an innocent expression of his national pride and that there was 鈥渘o hidden message or anything of the sort.鈥
The player said he had the celebration in mind before scoring.
鈥淚t has to do with this Turkish identity, because I鈥檓 very proud to be a Turk. And I felt that to the fullest after the second goal. So that鈥檚 how I ended up doing that gesture. I鈥檓 very happy that I did that,鈥 Demiral said. 鈥淚 saw people in the stadium who were doing that sign. So that reminded me that I also had that in mind.鈥
Later, he was asked again about the gesture.
鈥淗ow can I explain this?鈥 he replied. 鈥淥f course we鈥檙e all Turkish. We鈥檙e all Turks in Turkiye. We鈥檙e very proud. I鈥檓 very proud as a person to be a Turk. So that鈥檚 what I did. That was the meaning of the gesture. It鈥檚 quite normal.鈥
Demiral said he hoped he'd get 鈥渕ore opportunities to do the same gesture again.鈥
Demiral was previously one of 16 Turkiye players reprimanded in 2019 for making military-style salutes at games at a time when the country was conducting a military offensive in Syria.
The Gray Wolves group was founded as the youth wing of Turkiye's far-right Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, which is currently in an alliance with Erdogan鈥檚 ruling party, the Justice and Development Party.
In the decades following its founding in the 1960s, the group was accused of involvement in politically motivated violence, mostly against leftist groups.
MHP leader Devlet Bahceli on Wednesday condemned UEFA鈥檚 investigation into Demiral's gesture as 鈥渂iased and wrong.鈥
鈥淭he Gray Wolf sign made by our son, Merih, after netting the ball is the Turkish nation鈥檚 message to the world,鈥 Bahceli wrote on X. The nationalist leader urged calm, saying the Turkish team鈥檚 鈥渟truggle on the field should not go to waste.鈥
Germany's federal domestic agency monitors the Gray Wolves group's activities. Authorities estimate it has around 12,100 members in the country.
The group has been banned in France, while Austria has banned the use of the Gray Wolf salute.
AP newsperson Suzan Fraser contributed from Ankara, Turkiye, and AP sports writer James Ellingworth contributed from D眉sseldorf, Germany.
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