German minister condemns Turkish player's gesture as display of 'racism'

BERLIN : German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Wednesday condemned a hand gesture made by Turkish football player Merih Demiral at Tuesday's European Championship game between Turkey and Austria.

"The symbols of Turkish right-wing extremists have no place in our stadiums," Faeser said in a post on X.

"Using the European Football Championship as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable. We expect UEFA to investigate the case and consider sanctions," she added.

The so-called "wolf salute", with the little finger and index finger raised, is linked to the Turkish right-wing extremist group "Grey Wolves", which Faeser added is under surveillance by Germany's domestic intelligence service.