Military salute at the Stade de France: Turkish sports minister defends players – Foot – TUR

We play the 81st minute Monday night between France and Turkey, when Ayhan equalizes for the Turks. He and his teammates then go to the stands and perform a salute, as against Albania last Friday. A renewed gesture after the final whistle and inevitably controversial after the intervention of the Turkish army in Syria.

In response to the words of Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu who calls for "An exemplary sanction"his Turkish counterpart Mehmet Kasapoglu answered him and defended the players. "Those who seek to mask a counter-performance in the field with these processes should not make so much effort. The result is here: we are first(from group H) ". It asks UEFA to show "Discernment" vis-a-vis the many calls to sanction Turkey.

Mr. Kasapoglu also took Antoine Griezmann as an element of comparison. "Those who did not say anything when Griezmann made this salute are now looking for a different meaning to the beautiful salute our players have made". It refers to the two military salutes made by the striker of the Blues, during the victory in the final of the World Cup in Russia, when shake hands with Emmanuel Macron, then on the occasion of the ceremony of handing over the Legion of Honor to the players of the France team by the President of the Republic.