But his celebration -making the symbol of the 'Gray Wolves', a Turkish far-right group- has given way to a bitter controversy, with the intervention even of members of the German and Turkish governments. The 'Gray Wolves' are the paramilitary branch of the Nationalist Action Party, a member of the coalition led by President Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Their militias have regularly intimidated and attacked minorities in Türkiye such as Armenians, Kurds and homosexuals for decades.

Link with the 'Gray Wolves'

UEFA announced this Wednesday that they are opening an investigation for "alleged inappropriate behaviour" against Demiral for that gesture that he identifies with the extreme right of his country. UEFA is expected to make public its conclusions and possible sanctions before the quarterfinal match against the Netherlands .

"The symbol of Turkish right-wing extremists has no place in our stadiums. Using the European Football Championship as a platform for racism is totally unacceptable. We hope that UEFA investigates the case and considers sanctions,” reacted in X the German Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

In Germany, where there is a large immigrant community of Turkish origin, the authorities have already had to deal with supporters of the 'Gray Wolves', a group considered racist and anti-Semitic in Germany.

Diplomatic incident

AKP spokesman Omer Celik described UEFA's investigation and the German minister's reaction as "unacceptable." "It would be opportune for those who persecute racism and fascism to focus on the results of the recent elections in some countries in Europe," he added, referring to the rise of far-right parties in several countries in the European elections in June. 

Recalling that Germany does not ban the symbols of the 'Gray Wolves', the Turkish Foreign Ministry vilified "the politically motivated" and "xenophobic reactions of the German authorities towards Demiral."

As the hours progressed this Wednesday, the conflict increased in intensity to the point that the Turkish authorities summoned the German ambassador in Ankara to respond to the case, a diplomatic source informed AFP. A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry stated that they were going to "discuss the incident tomorrow (Thursday) with the Turkish ambassador" in Berlin.

"Proud to be Turkish"

After the game, Demiral assured that this gesture does not contain any "hidden message" and that he only wanted to express his "happiness" and his "pride" for being Turkish.

"The way I celebrated it has something to do with my Turkish identity (...) I am very proud to be Turkish and that is the meaning of my gesture," justified Demiral, chosen as the most valuable player of the match.

The footballer published the photograph on X performing the gesture, which quickly went viral and caused a wave of reactions, both criticism and support. "It is the symbol of oppression and persecution,” the leader of the NGO Association for Endangered Peoples in the Middle East, Kamal Sido, said. Turkish Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak replicated the player's photograph with the message "Not much needs to be said..." and the Turkish flag.