Germany summons Turkish ambassador to celebrate ‘Wolves’ goal | Türkiye

Turkey’s ambassador to Germany has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Berlin over Turkish footballer Merih Demiral’s far-right “wolf salute,” as his goal celebration at the European Championship became the subject of a diplomatic exchange.

Ahmet Başar Şen was urged to explain the gesture and take steps to prevent its further use, a ministry spokesman said, a day after the German ambassador to Turkey was summoned to the foreign ministry in Ankara, as the Turkish government accused Berlin of “xenophobia” over its criticism of the symbol associated with the Grey Wolves group.

The Grey Wolves are classified as a far-right group with between 18,500 and 20,000 members in Germany, making them the second-largest far-right organisation after Alternative für Deutschland, according to the domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).

However, neither the band nor the symbol are banned in Germany, unlike in neighboring Austria and France, despite years of debate over such a ban.

Demiral gave the wolf salute after scoring in Turkey’s round of 16 tie against Austria, which his team won 2-1.

Turks are the largest ethnic minority in Germany: 1.54 million people, with an additional 1.4 million German citizens of Turkish origin, making them the largest Turkish diaspora. The national team’s success at the Euro has sparked an enthusiastic response from Turks across the country.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser condemned the move, writing on X: “Using football leagues as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable.”

She called on UEFA to investigate the situation and consider imposing sanctions on the Turkish team. UEFA said it was investigating but had not yet made a decision as of Thursday afternoon.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a last-minute change to his travel plans to allow him to fly to Berlin before heading to Azerbaijan to watch the national team’s quarter-final against the Netherlands on Saturday night, according to reports in German and Turkish media around midday on Thursday. Erdogan made the decision in response to the fallout from Demiral’s salute, telling his advisers that he wanted to support the team, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The wolf salute is the symbol and identifying logo of the Grey Wolves, representing the head of a wolf: the index and little fingers forming the ears, the thumb, middle and ring fingers forming the muzzle.

Extremism experts say the Grey Wolves’ worldview is nationalist and Islamist, with hatred for Kurds, Jews, Christians, Armenians, Greeks, the European Union and the United States. The group, which has a long history of terrorism dating back to the 1970s, has been blamed for the Paris and Bangkok bombings and the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II.

Its founder, Alparslan Türkes, said about the salute: “The little finger symbolizes the Turks, the index finger symbolizes Islam, the ring finger – or the snout – symbolizes the world. The point where the other three fingers meet is a seal. This means: we will put the Turkish-Islamic seal on the world.”

Turks founded the nationalist movement party that governs Turkey with Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party.

Demiral said of the gesture: “Of course, I was very happy to have scored two goals. The way I celebrated it has something to do with my Turkish identity. I had seen members of the public doing this gesture. We are all Turkish. I am very proud to be Turkish. That is the meaning of this gesture.”

“I hope I have other opportunities to do this gesture. There is no hidden message, I just wanted to show how happy and content I was.”