Turkey defender Merih Demiral has been banned for two matches, ruling him out of the Euro 2024 quarter-final against Holland. UEFA’s decision follows Demiral’s controversial “Grey Wolf” goal celebration after scoring against Austria, which has been widely condemned as supporting a far-right cause.
The Turkish ambassador to Germany was summoned by the host country’s Foreign Office after publicly backing Demiral’s gesture. UEFA had already launched a disciplinary case, hitting the former Juventus center-back with four charges. The Grey Wolf symbol, which involves raising the index and little finger of each hand above the head, is associated with an extremist group linked to Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party, part of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s coalition.
The gesture is banned in Austria and France for supporting terrorism, though not in Germany. The Grey Wolves paramilitaries have been accused of murders of minority Kurds, Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians. Turkey will face Holland in Berlin’s Olympiastadion on Saturday, while England plays Switzerland in the other quarter-final match. Demiral’s ban and likely five-figure fine come as a significant blow to Turkey’s campaign.
Merih Demiral
Merih Demiral
TurkeyThis season he played in total 20 times for 1590 minutes for Pro League.
Merih Demiral scored 1 goal for Al Ahli. He procured one assist. He received 3 yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 3rd in Pro League. In the last match Al Ahli won 1-0 against Al Feiha.
Al Ahli performance and stats
Al Ahli is currently 3rd in the Pro League with 58 points.
In the last 34 games, it has won 19 times, drawn 8 times, and lost 7 times. In its last match, Al Ahli won 1-0 against Al Feiha.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 61 goals and conceding 34.
