Euro 2024 team at risk of major UEFA punishment after quarter-final matches
UEFA could be forced to hand out a punishment
Marcus Banks
UEFA might be forced to take action after the Euro 2024 quarter-final matches concluded.
The final four nations in this summer’s European Championship were confirmed on Saturday.
Host nation Germany were dumped out by Spain while Portugal crashed out at the hands of France.
Meanwhile, England booked their place in the semi-final with a penalty shoot-out win against Switzerland and they will face the Netherlands who came from behind to defeat Turkiye.
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There was plenty of controversy heading into the final round of fixtures in the quarter-finals.
England survived a scare when UEFA confirmed midfielder Jude Bellingham would be handed a suspended ban for the gesture he made at full-time during the win against Slovakia.
UEFA’s decision prompted fury from Turkish supporters after star defender Merih Demiral was handed a two-match suspension for making a nationalist gesture during their win against Austria, meaning he missed the defeat to the Netherlands.
In response to the ban, thousands of Turkey fans mimicked the ‘wolf’ gesture prior to kick-off against Ronald Koeman’s men which could lead to UEFA taking action against the country’s football federation.
The sign is associated with Turkish nationalists and the ultra-nationalist organisation Ulku Ocaklari which is more widely known as the ‘Gray Wolves’.
The European football body has already handed out multiple punishments for supporter behaviour during the tournament after Denmark were fined due to a supporter holding a ‘F*** UEFA’ sign while Albania and Serbia were fined for 'transmitting provocative messages unfit for a sports event', relating to flags on display relating to border territory of the nations.
UEFA stated they banned Demiral for “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.”
Turkish football federation president Mehmet Buyukeksi accused UEFA of having ‘double standards’ when it came to banning Demiral.
He said: “When compared to the fines and suspended penalties for much more serious offenses, including racist behaviour in the stands, this two-match ban is hugely disproportionate
“Our right to appeal has been taken away from us with the two-match penalty.”