The European Football Championship in Germany witnessed Turkish fans displaying the ultranationalist ‘wolf salute’ and chanting racist slogans affiliated with the ‘Grey Wolves’ organisation. The ‘Grey Wolves’ and its affiliated organisations are banned in several European countries such as France, but not in Germany. This is in spite of the fact that it is considered the largest right-wing extremist movement in Germany.
In the most recent incident, Turkish football player Merih Demiral made the ‘wolf salute‘, after scoring in a European Cup match between Turkey and Austria in the German city of Leipzig on 3 July.
Social and political scientist Kemal Bozay explains that the “ultra-nationalist, racist and violent” Grey wolves movement has existed in Turkey for more than five decade. It is also present in Germany with numerous connected organisations. Bozay, who has Kurdish roots himself, states that the Grey Wolves in Germany “exacerbate tensions among people of Turkish and Kurdish origin and are directed against the principle of human dignity formulated in [Germany’s} Basic Law”. According to Bozay “they have stepped up their activities in recent years.”
The Confederation of Kurdish Communities in Germany (KON-MED) and the Society for Threatened Peoples are among those demanding a ban, citing the organisation’s roles in promoting ethnic nationalism and supporting Turkey’s military actions against Kurdish groups.
The German leftist party Die Linke has also joined calls for a ban on the Grey Wolves, stating that “if a footballer in Germany can salute right-wing extremists with impunity, that must be a wake-up call for the German government”. Kurdish Die Linke MP Cansu Özdemir added that “racism is a core element of the ideology of the Grey Wolves” and that the organisation’s supporters are responsible “for several murders and attempted murders in Germany, including of Turkish and Kurdish activists. The group is also linked to numerous attacks on associations as well as intimidation of members of the opposition and critics of Turkish President Erdoğan.”
