Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to arrive in Berlin shortly before the Euro quarter-finals 2024 between Turkey and the Netherlands later today amid the controversy surrounding UEFA's punishment of Turkish player Merih Demiral, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
Erdogan will arrive in Berlin shortly before the match kicks off at 21:00 local time (22:00 Bulgarian time) at the Olympic Stadium and will leave the same evening, Erdogan's office told DPA.
No other engagements of Erdogan in Germany have been announced for now.
The Turkish president has yet to comment on defender Demiral's two-match ban by UEFA.
Demiral imitates the shape of a wolf's head with his fingers after his second goal in the 2-1 win against Austria in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
The controversial greeting is associated with the right-wing extremist movement "Grey Wolves" - the ultra-nationalist youth wing of the Nationalist Action Party, which is allied with Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party.
Demiral's gesture caused diplomatic tension between Turkey and Germany. Turkey summoned the German ambassador to Ankara on Wednesday to explain the remarks by the country's interior minister, Nancy Fazer, who called the player's celebration "unacceptable". Germany responded by summoning the Turkish ambassador to Berlin.
The Turkish president rejected the criticism of the player, saying that the footballer only expressed his "enthusiasm".
UEFA's decision caused strong dissatisfaction in Turkey.
Turkish state broadcaster TRT described the decision as "scandalous", and the head of Turkey's football federation Mehmet Buyukeksi called it "unacceptable, illegal and political".
Some groups of Turkish football fans have called for fans to perform the wolf's head salute at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.