Türkiye says ‘deeply regrets’ Demiral's suspension

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it "deeply regrets" Turkish national team player Merih Demiral's suspension by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for two matches over his alleged nationalist gesture during the Türkiye-Austria Euro 2024 elimination match.

“We deeply regret the two-match ban imposed on our national team player Merih Demiral by UEFA,” said a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement.

The statement stressed the role of international sports competitions in bringing societies and countries closer together.

Describing UEFA's decision as a “cause for disappointment” among all Turkish citizens, whether they live in Türkiye or abroad, the ministry added that the decision “reinforced assessments of rising prejudice against foreigners in some European countries.”

On Tuesday, Demiral scored twice in Türkiye's 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the last-16, securing the team a quarterfinal match against the Netherlands.

However, the 26-year-old's controversial celebration following his second goal prompted a UEFA investigation into alleged "inappropriate behavior."

He has now received a two-match ban from UEFA for breaking the fundamental rules of decent conduct, using sporting events for non-sporting activities, and tarnishing the reputation of football.

The report on Demiral's suspension reached the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) yesterday. The federation was given a short period of 24 hours for its defense.

This morning, TFF submitted its defense for Merih to UEFA. The 30-page defense emphasized that Demiral's sign is a 1,000-year-old symbol of Turkish tradition. The defense also highlighted incidents that other football competitions did not penalize, indicating a double standard for the suspensions.

Following the suspension, TFF has decided to apply to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

TFF President Mehmet Büyükekşi stated that the decision, announced immediately after the defense time ended, indicated that the defense file was not even evaluated and that there was no right of appeal with the imposed 2-match penalty. This is because appeals and applications to CAS are not available for penalties of less than 3 matches.

Erdoğan support

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the quarterfinal at the Olympiastadion in Berlin after Demiral's salute triggered a diplomatic row between Türkiye and Euro 2024 host nation Germany.

Demiral's celebration caused criticism in Germany, and diplomatic tensions between the two countries escalated with the summoning of each other's ambassadors to the ministries.

Germany's Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, warned that "the symbols of Turkish right-wing extremists have no place in our stadiums.".

In a written statement on July 3, the Turkish Foreign Ministry stressed that this investigation into Demiral was not acceptable and underlined that not everyone making the gesture of the grey wolves can be tagged as an ultra-rightist.

While Erdoğan himself has not yet weighed in on the row directly, several ministers and the spokesman of his ruling AKP party have condemned Faeser's reaction.

Demiral explained that his joy stemmed from his "Turkish identity."

The former Juventus defender, now at Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, said there was no "hidden message" in his gesture.

Demiral posted a photo of his celebration on X with the caption "How happy is the one who says 'I am a Turk'."