Contaminated Politics

Politics doesn't suit some places at all.
For example, it does not suit the army, the mosque or sports.
Political ideologies and symbols must not enter into national concepts. If politics enters into such communities where people with different views may be present, the unity and solidarity there will be disrupted. The team spirit will be damaged. For example, if a commander shows his political colour, his subordinates who do not share his views will not listen to him and his superiors will put pressure on him. Discipline suffers and problems arise in the performance of duties.
If politics infects the army, police, justice, education and sports, enemies, ignorance and rivals cannot be fought, justice will be undermined, and defeat in all matters will be inevitable.
Let us come to the sign made by Merih Demiral. The generally accepted meaning of this sign, which is claimed to represent an entire nation, is political in Turkey and is identified with a political party or political opinion. UEFA's reason for penalising the player is that it sees and interprets the gesture as political.  Of course, it can be argued that the penalty given by UEFA, which penalises political contamination with another political contamination, is harsh and wrong, but the main fact here is the consequences of this gesture. Merih's behaviour harmed both himself and the Turkish national football team. It has been seen, especially in the Austria match, that a good Merih, especially in terms of aerial dominance, provides a great advantage for the Turkish national football team both in defence and attack. In the quarter-final match against the Netherlands, it was obvious that Merih could have made a great contribution to the defence, especially when the Dutch were under pressure, but his inability to play due to his suspension deprived the Turkish people of the semi-final, the final and perhaps the cup.
While the referees were generally fair in Turkey's matches until the quarter-finals, the fact that the French referee in the quarter-final match, together with the Var referee, debated the decisions he made and did not make, and was generally against Turkey, led to the end of the semi-final hopes of this young team, along with the whole country. It is very likely that the underlying truth behind this biased attitude is the negative impact of the politicisation that took place before the match on the referees' minds.
In short, if Merih had not made this gesture and had not been penalised, it is very likely that Turkey, the youngest team in the last eight and the only country without a black player of African origin, would have played at least in the semi-finals.
One last point, the endeavour to make political capital out of the successes and failures of the national teams representing the whole country is also damaging to our teams. If we can learn from this tournament, not only technically and tactically but also politically, we can be more successful in the tournaments to come.
Let us not forget to thank all the components of the Turkish national team for the excitement, joy and pride they have brought to our people.
Our children will be much better, as long as they do not get involved in politics.