Before hit against Holland

Police stop Turkey fan march because of wolf salute

The wolf salute is not banned in Germany.(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Hate, pyro and hundreds of fans showing the Turkish wolf salute in the streets of Berlin! The atmosphere before the European Championship quarter-final between the Netherlands and Turkey(here in the live ticker) was already highly explosive before the game!

Because many Turkish soccer supporters showed the controversial wolf salute, the Berlin police stopped the fan march before the European Championship quarter-final against the Netherlands. The fans were asked to refrain from making the gesture. A fan march is "not a platform for political messages", the police announced on Platform X on Saturday.

Suspension for wolf salute
The background to the Turkish fan madness is the UEFA ban of player Merih Demiral, who cheered with the wolf salute in the round of 16 against Austria. In Turkey, UEFA's decision sparked outrage in some quarters.

In Germany, the wolf salute is not banned.(Bild: AFP or licensors)

With 18,500 members, the Grey Wolves are the largest right-wing extremist organization in Germany. They are not banned, but are monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Demiral had said that he only wanted to use the gesture to express that he was proud to be Turkish and that there was no hidden message behind it. However, the UEFA disciplinary chamber suspended Demiral for two matches on Friday. He had "used sporting events for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature and brought the sport of soccer into disrepute", was one of the reasons given.

Banned in Austria
The wolf salute usually expresses affiliation or sympathy with the Turkish far-right Ülkücü movement and its ideology. In Turkey, the ultra-nationalist MHP is its political representative and ally of President Erdogan's Islamic-conservative AKP. Demiral had justified the gesture with "pride and joy" and denied a "hidden message". The wolf salute is banned in Austria, but not in Germany.

Turkish ultras called for the wolf salute
Turkish Ultras called on fans to give the wolf salute during the Turkish national anthem before the game on Saturday. The aim was to show that the sign is not racism, but the symbol of Turkishness, they said. The influential fan group Ultraslan from traditional club Galatasaray announced that they "cannot wait to give an answer to this meanness tomorrow as thousands of Gray Wolves in Berlin and as millions around the world".