ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to travel to Berlin to attend the 2024 European Championship quarterfinal game between Turkey and the Netherlands, an official said Thursday, after aTurkey on Wednesday summoned the German ambassador to protest German interior minister Nancy Faeser’s criticism of Merih Demiral, who made a hand gesture that is associated with an ultra-nationalist group.
The player made a sign with each hand that is recognized as a symbol of Turkish nationalism after scoring his second goal on Tuesday. The sign is associated with the Turkish ultra-nationalist organization Ulku Ocaklari, which is more widely known as the Gray Wolves. Faeser said on the social media platform X that the symbol “of Turkish right-wing extremists” has no place in German stadiums and urged UEFA to punish the player for making the gesture.
Demiral has said he had the celebration in mind before scoring. He described his action as something “to do with this Turkish identity, because I’m very proud to be a Turk.”