Wolf salute scandal

Association denies ban! Confusion surrounding Demiral

Will Merih Demiral be banned or not?(Bild: AFP/APA/JAVIER SORIANO)

The Turkish Football Association has denied that Merih Demiral's suspension by UEFA following his controversial cheer is a done deal. They have until Friday morning to submit a defense plea.

As leaked on Thursday, Demiral is to be banned for two games by UEFA after his scandalous goal celebration. This means that the double goal scorer from the European Championship round of 16 against Austria will probably not be available for the quarter-final against the Netherlands on Saturday (9pm).

The Turkish Football Association has meanwhile dubbed the news as "false reports". After all, they have until Friday morning to submit their defense plea. According to "ZDF", the Turkish Ministry of Communications also spoke out on Thursday evening and denied that the player had been banned.

Will Merih Demiral be banned or not?(Bild: AFP/APA/JAVIER SORIANO)

Announcement on Friday
UEFA itself has not yet been prepared to make an official statement. According to "Bild", however, the verdict has already been reached and will be officially announced by UEFA on Friday.  

After scoring his second goal against Austria on Tuesday evening in the Leipzig stadium, Demiral raised both hands to the night sky in the so-called wolf salute, a hand signal and symbol of the "Grey Wolves". The supporters of the right-wing extremist "Ülkücü movement", which is being monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Germany, are referred to as "Grey Wolves". The goal celebration has long since become a political issue. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for example, has announced that he will be present at the quarter-final match in Berlin to "strengthen the team's back".