ICYMI - Two months ago: UEFA suspends Turkey player Demiral for 2 games for making national pride “Grey Wolves” gesture after his second goal against Austria - securing Turkey's place in Euro 2024 quarterfinals - deemed to be "racist."
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'PROUD TO BE TURKISH'
… I am very proud to be a Turk, I felt that to my bones after scoring the goal …
…The German Israeli Society, which described the "Grey Wolves" as a threat to Jews as well as Armenians, Greeks and Kurds, called on German authorities to ban the group.
"The ideological superiority of these fascist nationalists jeopardises public safety,"its president Volker Beck said in a statement.
In Turkey, the ruling AK party and its MHP ally both defended Demiral and said the backlash was out of proportion.
AK party spokesperson Omer Celik said those worried about racism and fascism should focus on recent elections around the continent where the ‘’’far right has been on the rise’’’.
"The Grey Wolf sign made by our son Merih after hitting the net is the Turkish nation's message to the world, and UEFA's launch of an investigation in this context is both ill-intentioned and part of a chain of provocations that have gained dangerous ground in recent days," added MHP leader Devlet Bahceli.
The incidentcoincided with the start of a trial in Turkey of 22 people over the murder of former "Grey Wolves" leader Sinan Ates, who was gunned down in Ankara in late 2022.
https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/german-minister-condemns-turkish-players-gesture-display-racism-2024-07-03/
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UEFA’s two-game ban of Turkey player Merih Demiral on Friday for a controversial hand gesture at the European Championship, an incident that led to a diplomatic row between Turkey and host nation Germany.
Theban rules Demiral out of the quarterfinal against the Netherlandson Saturday,and a semifinalshould Turkey progress.
The Turkish Football Federation joined Turkish government officials in denouncing the suspension …
After scoring his second goal in Turkey’s round-of-16 win over Austria on Tuesday, Demiral 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.
“We consider it unfair this ban, because that was not a political gesture,…Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella said.
… Demiral had said it was aninnocent expression of national pride…
Butit was condemned as “racism” by German interior ministerNancy Faeser, and Cem Özdemir, a German politician of Turkish descent, saidthe gesture “stands for terror, fascism.”
… UEFA said it banned Demiral “for failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute.”
…The Gray Wolves group was founded as the youth wing of Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, which is currently in an alliance with Erdogan’s ruling 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.
…
AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024
https://www.dw.com/en/euro-2024-netherlands-beat-turkey-to-set-up-england-semi/a-69585121
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Demiral's suspension is a significant blow to Turkey's Euro 2024 campaign. His stellar performance against Austria was crucial in securing Turkey's place in the quarter-finals.
https://worldsoccertalk.com/uefa-euro/turkey-lose-key-euro-2024-player-why-did-uefa-ban-demiral/
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'Bring on the noise': Why Turkey are Euro 2024's second hosts- ESPN
"Turkey [is] the unofficial second home nation of this tournamentthanks to the huge Turkish diaspora in Germany 2.9 million claim to have Turkish heritage mirroring Mexico's status in this summer's Copa América in the United States prior to their group-stage elimination."
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/40494289/bring-noise-why-turkey-euro-2024s-second-hosts