The fans were asked to refrain from making the gesture. A fan march is “not a platform for political messages,” the police said on Saturday on Platform X.
The fuss surrounding the wolf salute by Turkish national player Merih Demiral had further heated up the situation before the European Championship match in Berlin. Demiral had made the gesture in the round of 16 match once morest Austria following his second goal and was therefore banned by UEFA for two matches. In Turkey, UEFA’s decision had sparked some outrage. Turkish football ultras called on fans to make the wolf salute in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would attend the match.
The wolf salute usually expresses affiliation or sympathy with the Turkish right-wing extremist Ülkücü movement and its ideology. In Turkey, for example, it is used by the ultra-nationalist MHP party, which is a partner of the Erdogan government. In Austria, showing the wolf salute is forbidden, but not in Germany.