• Classification: Racist embarrassment in Bulgaria - England

The players of Turkey returned to make the controversial military salute after Kaan Ayhan achieved the goal of the draw against France in a match that leaves the classification of both for the Eurocup next year pending. The players went to the place where most Turkish fans were concentrated and put their hands on their heads to make the military salute.

A gesture that they had already made in the last game and that is interpreted as a support for their country's attacks against Kurdish positions on the border with Syria , condemned by a good part of the international community.

That event caused a great controversy in France, where Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian annulled his assistance to the party so as not to meet with Turkish officials , in the face of diplomatic tension between both countries in the bombing of Ankara to Kurdish positions in The border with Syria.

As announced by his department, the head of the gala diplomacy had planned to continue at the Stadium of France the duel, valid for the classification of the 2020 Eurocup. But at the last moment, according to BFMTV television, he informed that he would not attend for meet with Turkish officials.

France is one of the countries that has most vigorously condemned the attacks ordered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against Kurdish positions and canceled the sale of weapons to Ankara. In that context of diplomatic tension, the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, was the only government representative in the duel. His department indicated that "the diplomatic context should not hide that it is a sporting event" and that, as such, "it should be a space for dialogue and respect."

That statement comes in a context of tension, and after several French politicians called for the cancellation of the party . It was the case of the ultra-right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, who recalled that in the first leg the fans whistled La Marseillaise, the French anthem.

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  • 2020 Euro Cup
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