Statement from President Erdogan about Merih Demiral: Does anyone say that there is an eagle on the German jerseys?

After scoring a goal in the Austria match, our national football player Merih Demiral showed his joy by making the wolf sign, which led to an investigation by UEFA. President Erdogan, who answered journalists' questions on his way back to the country after attending the Astana summit, also commented on this issue for the first time.

"MERIH SHOWED HIS EXCITEMENT WITH THIS IMAGE"

President Erdogan said, "Does anyone say that there is an eagle on the German jerseys? Does anyone say to the French, why are you crowing when there is a rooster on their jerseys? Merih showed his excitement with this image. Upon this, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs called their officials and necessary steps are being taken accordingly. Hopefully, the whole issue will be resolved on Saturday. We have decided not to attend the match unless there is an extraordinary situation and we leave the field with a victory to advance to the next round."

WHAT HAPPENED?

Our national football player Merih Demiral showed his joy by making the wolf sign after scoring goals in the Austria match. Speaking about his gesture after the match, Demiral said, "There is no message, I just wanted to show how proud and happy I am."

While Merih's gesture caused a great reaction, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser requested sanctions from UEFA regarding this goal celebration. UEFA had initiated an investigation against our national football player for 'inappropriate behavior'.

The statement from UEFA was as follows, "Regarding the 2024 UEFA European Championship Round of 16 match between Austria and Turkey, which took place in Leipzig, Germany on July 2, 2024, an investigation has been opened against Merih Demiral, a player of the Turkish Football Federation, for alleged inappropriate behavior in accordance with Article 31(4) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations. More detailed information will be provided in the coming days."