Merih was defended! Marco van Basten criticized UEFA without holding back.

Dutch football legend Marco van Basten criticized UEFA's punishment of our national football player Merih Demiral. Van Basten, who argued that the decision regarding Merih should be made by Turkey, said, "Who is UEFA to say 'You can't do this'? Now you are allowing politics to interfere again and deciding to exclude a player."

"WHO IS UEFA!"

Speaking to the Dutch media outlet NOS, van Basten said, "Shouldn't the Turks be the ones to decide on the punishment when they feel that this behavior is wrong? Who is UEFA to say 'You can't do this'? Now you are allowing politics to interfere again and deciding to exclude a player. And then you say 'They are doing politics,' right? This is really strange. Stay true to football!"

WHAT HAPPENED?

UEFA had given Merih Demiral a 2-match ban for giving the Grey Wolf salute after scoring goals in the match against Austria. In addition to the 2-match ban, UEFA also requested that Merih Demiral remove his social media posts. In its statement, UEFA explained the reason for the punishment, stating that Merih Demiral did not comply with general behavioral principles, violated basic courtesy rules, used sports events for non-sporting displays, and damaged the reputation of football.