UEFA has given Merih Demiral a 2-match suspension.

UEFA announced its decision regarding national football player Merih Demiral, who made the wolf sign after scoring a goal in the Austria-Turkey match.

RECEIVED A 2-MATCH BAN

An investigation was launched against our player Merih Demiral after the Austria match, which was played on July 2nd and ended with a 2-1 victory for our National Team. UEFA has given our national football player Merih Demiral a 2-match ban. The statement made by the Turkish Football Federation stated, "We are appealing the decision to CAS."

UEFA's statement is as follows;

UEFA stated that "Merih Demiral, a player of the Turkish Football Federation, has violated the general principles of behavior, breached basic courtesy rules, used sports events for non-sporting displays, and damaged the reputation of football as a sport. Therefore, he is banned from participating in a total of two (2) UEFA national team matches."

30-PAGE DEFENSE FROM TFF

The Turkish Football Federation sent a 30-page defense file prepared by local and foreign lawyers to the UEFA Disciplinary Committee this morning. The file highlighted numerous previous examples and emphasized that the wolf sign is a symbol of Turkish-origin peoples in Anatolia, Central Asia, and many other parts of the world for a thousand years.

WHAT HAPPENED?

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

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had targeted this goal celebration and demanded sanctions from UEFA. UEFA had initiated an investigation against our national football player for 'inappropriate behavior' due to this goal celebration. UEFA's statement was as follows, "An investigation has been launched in accordance with Article 31(4) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations regarding the alleged inappropriate behavior of Turkish Football Federation player Merih Demiral in the Austria-Turkey match of the UEFA European Championship Round of 16, which took place in Leipzig, Germany, on July 2, 2024. More detailed information will be provided in the coming days."