The Turkish defender Merih Demiral's goal celebration during the European Championship in Germany has become a major political issue.
The countries have summoned ambassadors for meetings and on Saturday's quarterfinal against the Netherlands, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be sitting in the stands.
The Turkish defender made a hand gesture after his second goal in Turkey's 2-1 win over Austria in the round of 16 in the European Championship – a gesture believed to be linked to the far-right organization Grey Wolves.
This prompted Germany's Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, to react strongly. On X, she writes that the European Championship should not be a platform for racism.
"The symbols of Turkish far-right extremists have no place in our arenas. Using the European Championship as a platform for racism is completely unacceptable", she writes.
Turkey responded to Faeser's statement by summoning the German ambassador in Ankara for a meeting, reports AFP.
"The reactions shown by the German authorities towards Demiral are in themselves xenophobia", writes Turkey's Foreign Ministry in a statement.
Germany, on the other hand, has summoned the Turkish ambassador in Berlin for a meeting on Thursday morning, reports AFP.
Shortly afterwards, it was announced that Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will come to Berlin on Saturday to attend the quarterfinal against the Netherlands at the Olympic Stadium.
Uefa has announced that it is investigating Demiral.
