Berlin police stopped the march of Turkish fans before the Netherlands-Turkey quarter-final match at the European Championship, because they en masse made the hand gesture of the Turkish far-right group “Grey Wolves”.
“During the march of the Turkish fans, the Gray Wolves salute was performed en masse. The police therefore stopped the march and called on the fans to stop making that sign,” the Berlin police wrote on platform X and added that the fans’ march “is not a place for political messages “.
The Netherlands-Turkey match tonight at 21:00, at the Olympia Stadium in Berlin, which should be attended by the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, comes at the height of the diplomatic dispute between Berlin and Ankara.
The “Grey Wolves” gesture is in the spotlight this Sunday as the sign was made by Turkish defender Merih Demiral to celebrate the goals he scored in the round of 16 match against Austria.
Due to this, Demiral was suspended for two matches, according to the decision of the European Football Union (UEFA).
Demiral’s gesture also caused diplomatic tensions between Turkey and Germany.
On Wednesday, Turkey summoned the German ambassador to Ankara for talks in protest over a statement by German Interior Minister Nancy Feser, who called the player’s gesture “unacceptable”.
Germany responded the next day by summoning the Turkish ambassador to Berlin.
Erdogan did not react directly, but several ministries and a spokesman for his Justice and Development Party (AKP) condemned the UEFA investigation and the reaction of the German minister.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the “politically motivated statements”, which “in themselves are xenophobic reactions of the German authorities towards Demiral”, Beta writes.
Photo ©️ Anadolu Agency
