Türkiye summoned Germany’s ambassador in protest of interior minister Nancy Faeser’s criticism of Turkish national team player Merih Demiral for a gesture he made during the European championship game with Austria on Tuesday.
Diplomatic sources said Ambassador Jurgen Schulz was summoned to the ministry to protest the German interior minister’s request to launch a UEFA investigation into Demiral’s gesture, even though it is not banned in the country.
The Foreign Ministry previously condemned the investigation as a politically motivated reaction "to the use of a historical and cultural symbol" during the goal celebration.
A ministry statement said the gesture is not banned in Germany and noted that the German authority that safeguards the constitution had ruled in September 2023 that not everyone making the Gray Wolf sign could be classified as a far-right extremist.
"We consider that the reactions shown by the German authorities toward Mr. Demiral themselves contain xenophobia," the ministry said.
After Tuesday's game, Demiral said his gesture was an innocent expression of his national pride and that there was "no hidden message or anything of the sort."
The player said he had the celebration in mind before scoring.
"It has to do with this Turkish identity, because I'm very proud to be a Turk. And I felt that to the fullest after the second goal. So that's how I ended up making that gesture. I'm very happy that I did that," Demiral said. "I saw people in the stadium who were doing that sign. So that reminded me that I also had that in mind."
Later, he was asked again about the gesture.
"How can I explain this?" he replied. "Of course, we're all Turkish. We're all Turks in Türkiye. We're very proud. I'm very proud as a person to be a Turk. So that's what I did. That was the meaning of the gesture. It's quite normal."
The championship game was held in the German city of Leipzig and the minister immediately condemned Demiral following his gesture, after scoring two goals that secured Türkiye’s place in the quarterfinals.
After scoring the second goal, Demiral made a sign with each hand that is used by Turkish nationalists and associated with the Turkish ultra-nationalist organization Ülkü Ocakları, which is more widely known as the Gray Wolves.
Faeser urged UEFA to punish the player for making the gesture.
"The symbols of Turkish right-wing extremists have no place in our stadiums. Using the soccer European Championship as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable," Faeser said on X.
UEFA said it was investigating Demiral's behavior. The soccer body did not outline when the case might conclude.
Türkiye's next game is against the Netherlands in Berlin on Saturday.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesman Ömer Çelik said Faeser's comments and UEFA's investigation are "unacceptable."
"It would be more appropriate for those looking for racism and fascism to focus on the recent election results in different European countries," Çelik wrote on X.
The Gray Wolves group was founded as the youth wing of the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP.
MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli on Wednesday condemned UEFA's investigation into Demiral's gesture as "biased and wrong."
"The Gray Wolf sign made by our son, Merih, after netting the ball is the Turkish nation's message to the world," Bahçeli wrote on X. The nationalist leader urged calm, saying the Turkish team's "struggle on the field should not go to waste."
Germany's federal domestic agency monitors the Gray Wolves group's activities. Authorities estimate it has around 12,100 members in the country.
The group has been banned in France, while Austria has banned the use of the Gray Wolf salute.
