Turkish defender Merih Demiral, who made a controversial celebration during the Euro 2024 round of 16 against Austria, has been banned for two matches, UEFA announced on Friday, a decision described as “unfair” by Turkey. The player had made the gesture to rally the “Grey Wolves”, a Turkish far-right group, after scoring one of his two goals against the Austrians. Demiral was suspended “for failure to respect the general principles of conduct, for violating the fundamental rules of good conduct, for using sporting events for non-sporting events and for bringing football into disrepute”, UEFA said. He will therefore be deprived of the Euro quarter-final against the Netherlands on Saturday in Berlin, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has decided to attend. “We condemn UEFA’s unfair and biased decision, which has no legal basis and which we consider to be purely political,” Turkish Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak responded on the social network X.
Published on: 05/07/2024 – 15:11
1 mn
Continue reading on the same topics:
