Turkey Summons Germany Ambassador To Protest Criticism of Merih Demiral슬롯사이트™s Goal Celebration at UEFA Euro 2024

Mumbai, July 4: A controversial gesture made by Turkey player Merih Demiral at soccer's European Championship has ignited a diplomatic brouhaha between the country and host nation Germany. Turkey summoned the German ambassador on Wednesday to protest German interior minister Nancy Faeser's condemnation of Demiral's goal celebration the night before, when the player displayed a hand sign associated with an ultra-nationalist group.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천England Midfielder Jude Bellingham Won슬롯사이트™t Go for Surgery After UEFA Euro 2024.

Demiral scored both goals Tuesday in a 2-1 win over Austria to earn Turkey's place in the quarterfinals. After scoring the second goal he made a sign with each hand that is used by Turkish nationalists and associated with the Turkish ultra-nationalist organization Ulku Ocaklari, which is more widely known as the Gray Wolves. Faeser urged UEFA to punish the player for making the gesture.

슬롯사이트œThe 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,슬롯사이트� Faeser said on X.

Federal minister Cem Özdemir, a German politician of Turkish descent, said Demiral's gesture is 슬롯사이트œextreme right" and "stands for terror, fascism.슬롯사이트�

UEFA said it was investigating Demiral's 슬롯사이트œalleged inappropriate behavior.슬롯사이트� The soccer body did not outline when the case might conclude. Turkey's next game is against the Netherlands in Berlin on Saturday. The spokesman for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party, Omer Celik, said Faeser's comments and UEFA's investigation are 슬롯사이트œunacceptable.슬롯사이트�

슬롯사이트œIt would be more appropriate for those looking for racism and fascism to focus on the recent election results in different European countries,슬롯사이트� Celik wrote on X.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry also condemned the investigation as a politically motivated reaction 슬롯사이트œto the use of a historical and cultural symbol슬롯사이트� during the goal celebration. A ministry statement said the gesture is not banned in Germany and noted that the German authority which safeguards the constitution had ruled in September 2023 that not everyone making the Gray Wolf sign could be classified as a far-right extremist.

슬롯사이트œWe consider that the reactions shown by the German authorities toward Mr. Demiral themselves contain xenophobia,슬롯사이트� the ministry said.

After Tuesday's game, Demiral said his gesture was an innocent expression of his national pride and that there was 슬롯사이트œno hidden message or anything of the sort.슬롯사이트� The player said he had the celebration in mind before scoring.

슬롯사이트œIt 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 doing that gesture. I'm very happy that I did that,슬롯사이트� Demiral said. 슬롯사이트œI saw people in the stadium who were doing that sign. So that reminded me that I also had that in mind.슬롯사이트�

Later, he was asked again about the gesture. 슬롯사이트œHow can I explain this?슬롯사이트� he replied. 슬롯사이트œOf course we're all Turkish. We're all Turks in Turkey. 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.슬롯사이트�

Demiral said he hoped he'd get 슬롯사이트œmore opportunities to do the same gesture again.슬롯사이트� Demiral was previously one of 16 Turkey players reprimanded in 2019 for making military-style salutes at games at a time when the country was conducting a military offensive in Syria.

The Gray Wolves group was founded as the youth wing of Turkey's far-right Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, which is currently in an alliance with Erdogan's ruling party, the Justice and Development Party. In the decades following its founding in the 1960s, the group was accused of involvement in politically motivated violence, mostly against leftist groups. MHP leader Devlet Bahceli on Wednesday condemned UEFA's investigation into Demiral's gesture as 슬롯사이트œbiased and wrong.슬롯사이트� Win or Retire: Germany Star Toni Kroos Aims To Disappoint Real Madrid Teammates at UEFA Euro 2024.

슬롯사이트œThe Gray Wolf sign made by our son, Merih, after netting the ball is the Turkish nation's message to the world,슬롯사이트� Bahceli wrote on X. The nationalist leader urged calm, saying the Turkish team's 슬롯사이트œstruggle on the field should not go to waste.슬롯사이트�

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.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)