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Turkey’s Merih Demiral Receives Two-Match Ban for Controversial Salute

Turkey defender Merih Demiral has been handed a two-match ban for making an ultra-nationalist salute during his country’s Euro 2024 victory against Austria. The 26-year-old Al-Ahli player celebrated his second goal in the 2-1 win with a ‘wolf salute,’ a gesture associated with the far-right extremist group Grey Wolves, linked to Turkey’s National Movement Party.

Demiral stated that the salute, banned in Austria and France, was pre-planned in case he scored during the match. UEFA charged Demiral for failing to comply with general principles of conduct, violating the basic rules of decent conduct, using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature, and bringing the sport into disrepute.

Despite the controversy, Turkey’s minister of youth and sports, Osman Aşkın Bak, condemned UEFA’s decision, describing it as “unfair and biased.” Bak stated on X, “We believe this decision has no legal basis and is entirely political. We will continue to seek our rights through legal means against this double standard applied to our country and our national football player Merih Demiral. We believe in our football players. They will also give the necessary answer on the field.”

Turkey will face the Netherlands in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

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