Turkiye summons Germany ambassador in protest against reactions to football player’s ‘Grey Wolves’ hand gesture

Turkiye yesterday summoned Germany’s ambassador over a row that erupted following a Turkish footballer’s use of an alleged right-wing ultranationalist political symbol during a match this week. At the match between Turkiye and Austria during the ongoing Euro 2024 games, Turkish defender, Merih Demiral, made a hand symbol referring to the ‘Grey Wolves’ after scoring a goal. The Grey Wolves, branded as the militant wing of Turkiye’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), is regarded as an ultranationalist right-wing organisation, and has been banned in some European nations, such as France and Austria. It has not been banned in Germany, however, but that did not stop the German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, from condemning Demiral’s hand signs and warning that “the symbols […]