Former Turkish German football star Mesut Özil shared a photo on Instagram on Saturday in support of Turkish defender Merih Demiral.
The post showing Demiral doing the Turkic wolf salute came ahead of Türkiye’s Euro 2024 quarterfinal match against the Netherlands in Berlin, along with the caption “Come on Türkiye!”
UEFA has controversially banned Demiral for two games for the gesture, which he used to celebrate his second goal in the 2-1 last-16 win over Austria.
The sign is wrongly associated with a far-right salute but Turkish politicians and sports officials have decried the ban, saying it is only cultural.
