Press Releases
07/08/2024
Call for consequences for showing the wolf salute during the European Championship
UEFA should initiate investigations against fans
The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has accused the German Federal Government and UEFA of downplaying the threats posed by Turkish nationalists and Islamists, calling for consequences. “UEFA failed to impose stadium bans for showing the wolf salute – and the three-step plan against racism and discrimination was not implemented. During the quarter finals match against the Netherlands, a huge number of fans of the Turkish national team had displayed the wolf salute – but there were was no announcement in the stadium and the match was not interrupted,” criticized Dr. Kamal Sido, the STP’s Middle East Consultant, in Göttingen today.
“Showing the wolf salute in German stadiums must not go without consequences. UEFA must react to this and initiate investigations against fans of the Turkish national team who showed the right-wing extremist gesture. Showing the wolf salute must be punished with stadium bans,” the human rights advocate demanded.
“The German Federal Government must take the dangerous ideology of the Grey Wolves in Germany seriously. Associations with connections to the Grey Wolves should no longer receive funds from the German Federal Government or the state governments. At the same time, the victims of the ideology of the Grey Wolves should be able to rely on more support,” Sido emphasized.
“With the summoning of the German ambassador to Turkey and Erdoğan’s unofficial visit to Berlin at short notice, the Turkish government clearly backed the right-wing extremist and racist ideology of the Grey Wolves. The German Federal Government should decide on consequences for Erdoğan’s actions and the conduct of the Turkish government,” the STP’s Middle East Correspondent stated.
“The ideology of the Grey Wolves is deeply rooted in the Turkish state,” Sido said. At least five people were shot dead by the Turkish army and its mercenaries in northern Syria over the last few days. 20 were injured and 30 were arrested. They had protested against the attacks on Syrians refugees in Turkey and against a possible deal between Erdoğan and the Syrian dictator Assad – to the detriment of the Syrian people. According to the Turkish Army, it “neutralized” 1332 Kurdish “terrorists” since the beginning of 2024. “The Grey Wolves are celebrating the crimes committed in Northern Syria. Further, the Grey Wolves are celebrating and supporting the expulsion of almost the entire Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh – around 120,000 people – at the end of 2023,” the Middle East expert explained.