Turkish defender Merih Demiral suspended for 2 matches for grey wolf sign at EURO 2024

ANKARA

Turkish football player Merih Demiral on Friday has been suspended for two matches for his grey wolf sign at the UEFA EURO 2024 last 16 match against Austria.

"The (UEFA) Appeals Body has decided to suspend Turkish Football Federation player Merih Demiral, for a total of two (2) UEFA representative team competition matches for which he would be otherwise eligible, for failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute," the UEFA statement read.

As it stands, Demiral, 26, a former Juventus and Atalanta player, cannot play against the Netherlands in a Saturday quarterfinal match, and will also miss the EURO 2024 semifinals if Türkiye proceed.

UEFA has previously launched an investigation after Demiral celebrated with the grey wolf sign in a last 16 match against Austria that Türkiye won 2-1 in Germany's Leipzig on July 2.

Demiral scored twice to play a key role for the win in the Austria thriller.

A Türkiye player since 2018, Demiral scored four goals in 48 international caps for his nation.