In a statement, UEFA said Merih Demiral was suspended for two matches for demonstrating unsporting behaviour at a sporting event, bringing football into disrepute and acting contrary to general principles of behaviour.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the Turkish Football Federation is currently appealing the decision.
If the decision is not overturned, Merih Demiral will miss the quarter-final against the Netherlands and the semi-final if his national team advances.
“This decision undermines football’s independence”
“We regret and wish to state that the penalty awarded by the UEFA disciplinary committee to national team player Merih Demiral is regrettable and unacceptable. The application for the penalty was duly made,” UEFA executive committee member Serve Yardimci said in a written statement. “Holding celebrations after the end of a match in a tournament that was progressing smoothly is an interference with the independence of football,” he said.
“Our footballers scored goals to reach the quarter-finals of EURO 2024 and shared their natural joy in celebrating the moment they were named Player of the Match with Turkish fans.” In his assessment, the Deputy Prime Minister said:
“There is nothing here that could hurt the opponent or the community. The players expressed their emotions naturally in the press conference they attended after the match. Footballers should not be punished for their way of celebrating or the format, unless it is derogatory.” Although the Disciplinary Committee is a committee that is independent of the UEFA management and makes decisions through its own internal functions, I want to emphasize my belief that this mistake must be overturned before that. As Turkey, we continue to show the world all the beauty of football and nothing should distract us until the quarter-final match we will play at EURO 2024. “We should not be distracted, we should be more focused.” In the final journey of “Our Children”, more than ever.
UEFA’s double standards
UEFA also fines footballers for any actions that show political or ideological behavior, show pictures of national leaders, make the Chetnik salute or act contrary to general principles of conduct or that violate ethical behavior rules, but the gray wolf movement in the match against Austria was a violation of the remaining 16 matches of the 2024 European Championship, and for this reason it suspended national footballer Merih Demiral for two matches.
UEFA gives English footballer Jude Bellingham one-match suspension
The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee (CEDB) has fined English footballer Jude Bellingham €30,000 and handed him one UEFA ban after he was investigated for breaching ethics rules during a goal celebration at EURO 2024. It handed him the punishment for breaching basic decency rules.
The English Football Association was also fined €10,000 for the disruption caused by fans and €1,000 for lighting fireworks.
UEFA fines Chetnik salute
UEFA has not penalised or only fined some Serbian footballers for making the Chetnik salute, a type of salute once used by Serbian nationalists.
UEFA’s parent body, FIFA, did not take any disciplinary action against Aleksandar Kolarov for making the Chetnik salute after scoring a free-kick goal in the Serbia vs. Costa Rica match at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Also, in a European Championship qualifier, Dusko Tosic’s Chetnik salute after Aleksandar Kolarov’s goal in Serbia’s 2-0 win over Albania was not penalised by UEFA.
Dusan Tadic gave the Chetnik salute during Serbia’s 3-1 win over Montenegro in a European Championship qualifying group game last year but was not suspended by UEFA.
The Chetnik salute, which signifies a Serbian victory, was created as a symbol of the amputation of the pinky and ring fingers of Bosnian Muslims by racist Serb gangs after they murdered their families during the Bosnian war.
Tarasov fined for wearing Putin T-shirt
Dmitry Tarasov, a Russian footballer for Lokomotiv Moscow, was fined for wearing a T-shirt featuring a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the UEFA Europa League’s first match against Fenerbahçe on February 16, 2016, in the 32nd round of the UEFA Europa League finals.
Tarasov, who took off his jersey after Fenerbahce’s 2-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow to reveal a T-shirt with a picture of Putin and the words “The Kindest President” in Russian, was fined 5,000 euros.
The statement reminded footballers that if they visibly use any object containing a political, religious or advertising message during a match, they will be penalized in accordance with the rules of the game.
Albanian footballer fined for making double-headed eagle gesture
FIFA has fined both teams over incidents that occurred during the 2018 World Cup match between Serbia and Switzerland.
Following the incident in a Group E match on 22 June, which Switzerland won 2-1, FIFA filed a lawsuit against Albanian footballers Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Slavisa and announced penalties for disciplinary investigations opened against Kokeza and the football team’s coach, Mladen Krstasic, who fined Shaqiri and Granit Slavisa CHF 10,000 each and FSS CHF 54,000 for inappropriate fan behaviour.
A statement from FIFA before the penalty shootout said a disciplinary investigation had been launched because Xhaka and Shaqiri’s goal celebrations had a “political content”.
Kosovo separated from Serbia and unilaterally declared independence on February 17, 2008, but Serbia continues to consider Kosovo, which is recognized as an independent state by 116 countries, as its own territory.
For this reason, the goal celebrations of Kosovo Albanians Shaqiri and Xhaka, and the Kosovo flag on Shaqiri’s boots, caused a huge reaction among the Serbian public.
Pep Guardiola with a yellow ribbon on his chest
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wore a yellow ribbon on his chest during the match in support of activists and politicians who have been detained fighting for Catalan independence.
The Spanish manager has worn the yellow ribbon in both English Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches.
Guardiola’s actions did not result in any sanctions from UEFA.
