Turkey on Wednesday summoned Germany’s ambassador over a row that erupted due to Turkish defender Merih Demiral making an alleged ultra-nationalist gesture as he celebrated scoring in the win against Austria at Euro 2024.

The gesture, which Demiral made to the crowd after scoring his second goal of the game in the 2-1 victory, is associated with Turkish ultra-nationalist group Grey Wolves.

Demiral’s action prompted UEFA to launch a probe for ‘inappropriate behaviour’, and sparked condemnation from German leaders, but Ankara immediately branded Berlin’s reaction as ‘xenophobia’.

Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warned ‘the symbols of Turkish right-wing extremists have no place in our stadiums.

‘Using the European football championships as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable,’ she added on X, formerly Twitter.

Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned Germany’s ambassdor, a diplomatic source told AFP, as Ankara hit back against the accusations.

Germany’s domestic intelligence service had emphasised in its report ‘not every person making the grey wolf sign can be described as a far-right extremist,’ said Turkey’s foreign ministry.

‘The reactions shown to Mr Demiral by the German authorities are itself xenophobia,’ it said.

‘We condemn the politically motivated reactions to the use of a historical and cultural symbol in a way that does not target anyone during the celebration at a sports event,’ it added.
Speaking after the game in Leipzig, Demiral said there was no ‘hidden message’ in his celebration.

‘The way I celebrated had something to do with my Turkish identity,’ said Demiral, who was man of the match after scoring both Turkey’s goals.

‘We are all Turks, I am very proud to be Turkish and that is the meaning of this gesture.’

The defender said he saw Turkish supporters in the stands using the salute.

‘I just wanted to demonstrate how happy I am and how proud I am,’ Demiral said, adding that he hoped there would be ‘even more opportunities to show this gesture.’

The Grey Wolves is regarded as the militant wing of Turkey’s Movement Party (MHP) and has been banned in France and Austria, but not in Germany.

The group advocated radical ideas and used violence in the 1980s against leftist activists and ethnic minorities.

Germany’s agriculture minister Cem Ozdemir said ‘nothing about the wolf salute is hidden’.

The symbol ‘stands for terror (and) fascism’, said Ozdemir, one of the most prominent German politicians with Turkish roots, on X.

Following the last-16 clash, the Society for Threatened Peoples, a German human rights organisation, called on UEFA to crack down on the use of the wolf salute.

The gesture was ‘a symbol of oppression and persecution’, the NGO’s Middle East lead Kamal Sido said in a statement.

Separately, Austrian forward Michael Gregoritsch also called on fans to distance themselves from ‘right-wing ideology’.

Supporters of the Austrian team were reported during the game to have sung racist lyrics to the tune of popular dance track ‘L’Amour Toujours’ by Italian DJ Gigi D’Agostino.

The chant — which includes the line ‘foreigners out’ — recently caused controversy in Germany after a widely shared clip showed a group of young people singing it on a bar terrace.