Turkey's national football player Merih Demiral has been suspended for two matches during the Euro 2024 tournament due to a controversial goal celebration. According to BILD, Demiral's celebration involved a hand gesture associated with the "Grey Wolves," a far-right movement that has been under surveillance by German authorities for years. As a result, he will miss the quarter-final match against Holland in Berlin and potentially a semi-final match.
The Turkish Football Federation stated that they had not yet been informed of UEFA's decision and were given until Friday morning to present arguments against the suspension. Demiral showed no remorse for his actions, stating, "How I celebrated has something to do with my Turkish identity. I saw people in the stadium who also made this gesture."
UEFA maintains a strict policy against political messages during the tournament, both in the stands and on the field. This suspension aligns with UEFA's consistent stance on such matters. Similarly, Albanian player Arlind Daku was suspended for two international matches for inciting fans with nationalistic chants after a match against Croatia.
In another incident, England's Jude Bellingham was fined at least €20,000 for an obscene gesture but was not suspended. Bellingham's act involved making a vulgar gesture towards fans, which UEFA punished with a financial penalty rather than a suspension.
These actions reflect UEFA's commitment to upholding sportsmanship and preventing the sport from being used for political or inappropriate expressions.
by azizhusini
4 Comments
if he was English, German, Italian, Spanish etc. he would just get a monetary fine like Bellingham but because he is Turkish, he gets a two match ban as well because let’s face it, it’s easier for them to ban a Turkish player rather than Bellingham. What happens when one of the Turkish guys scores in the semi final and does the Bellingham celebration? Everyone is equal but some are more equal than others.
The Dutch are really gonna shithouse their way to a final?
They get 3rd in their group, and as a reward get put in the easiest bracket and they face Romania, when Romania really should have gotten Slovenia but Portugal decided to play the reserves. Now they face a real underdog in Turkey, but without Kökçü and Demiral. If they win (which they should), they’ll face either a pragmatic England or a dark-horse Switzerland, and then the Final which they could probably shithouse and win if they try hard enough.
Nothing wrong with nationalism, weak to ban him for this
Oh ffs just let him play and do whatever you want with him after the tournament (you can even put him in the jail if it’s really that concerning).
Even my Kurdish friends don’t want Demiral to be banned over such a pointless thing when hundreds of people IRL and online do the same sign without the smallest consequence.
I had a small talk over this with my Turkish and Kurdish friends and for them it was clear that he did the sign to demonstrate his national pride and didn’t seem to have the slightest intention to support/promote the fascist people using the same sign.
At any rate, this stupid gesture is far less worrying than half of France population voting for extreme right parties and all the racist acts made by our politicians throughout Europe.