Euro 2024: Erdogan to attend Turkey's quarter-final in Berlin after Grey Wolves spat
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will watch the Uefa Euro 2024 quarter-finals match between Turkey and the Netherlands in Berlin on Saturday, two sources familiar with the president's travel plans told Middle East Eye.
Erdogan's decision to attend the match follows the cancellation of a planned trip to Azerbaijan, where he was set to attend the Organisation of Turkic States summit. Instead, his vice president will attend in his place.
The change in plans comes on the heels of a Uefa inquiry into Turkish footballer Merih Demiral, who was seen flashing the Grey Wolves sign during a game against Austria on Tuesday.
The sign is closely associated with Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a partner in Erdogan’s ruling alliance in parliament.
Uefa's move came after German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Wednesday that “the symbols of Turkish right-wing extremists have no place" in German stadiums.
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“Using the European Football Championship as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable,” she said. “We expect Uefa to investigate the case and consider sanctions.”
MHP leader Devlet Bahceli called the investigation “a provocation”, escalating the issue into a diplomatic crisis between Germany and Turkey.
The Turkish foreign ministry summoned the German ambassador in Ankara for a formal reprimand over the Uefa inquiry. In a statement, the ministry criticised the investigation, deeming it unacceptable.
NEW: UEFA has launched an investigation against Merih Demiral for flashing Turkish nationalist Grey Wolves sign last night during a game with Austria, Turkish media report pic.twitter.com/MHaW3q8YA0
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) July 3, 2024
“The report published by the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in September 2023 emphasised that not every person who makes the Grey Wolf sign can be considered an extreme right [right-winger],” said the ministry.
“And the ‘Grey Wolf’ sign is not a banned symbol in Germany. The reactions shown to Mr Demiral by the German authorities are considered to contain xenophobia in themselves.”
Some Turkish media suggested that Erdogan’s visit to Berlin was a gesture of solidarity with Turkish nationalists amid the controversy. However, sources familiar with the visit dismissed this notion.
“He only wants to watch the game,” one source said.
The Grey Wolves, formally known as Ulku Ocaklari (Idealist Hearths), were founded in the 1960s by Alparslan Turkes, a colonel involved in the 1960 coup that overthrew Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. Ulku Ocaklari serves as the youth wing of the MHP.
Historically, the Grey Wolves were a fiercely anti-communist group, hostile to democracy, and advocated violence against perceived enemies of Turkey.
Under Devlet Bahceli's leadership, the MHP and the Grey Wolves have attempted to rebrand as moderates, supporting liberal democracy and downplaying overt ethnic nationalism. Critics, however, argue that this transformation is largely superficial.
The French government outlawed the organisation in 2020.
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