Turkey's football players gave a military salute after a late goal in their 1-1 draw with France, despite UEFA already looking into similar salutes during their match with Albania on Friday.

UEFA, the European soccer federation, prohibits political statements in stadiums.

The salute in Paris came after Kaan Ayhan's late equalizer in Paris. The salutes are seen as giving support to Turkish forces involved in the country's invasion of Kurdish-held regions in northern Syria. 

Defender Merih Demiral urged Ayhan to salute, too, leading to what looked like a heated discussion between the two, but the goal-scorer did not. Ayhan plays for German side Fortuna Düsseldorf, which had issued a statement after Friday's game to distance itself from "politically motivated acts."

The manager of Turkey's national team, Senol Günes, said: "This military salute, it's not to show a negative attitude. We don't want our soldiers to go into another country, but if there was violence here in France, I think French people would do the same thing as us. These are acts of good faith, to encourage our soldiers."

Ahead of the game there had been calls from some French politicians for the game to be canceled because of events in northern Syria. 

Turkey launched the cross-border assault on Kurdish YPG militia last Wednesday after President Donald Trump withdrew some US troops from the region. The US is now threatening more sanctions as a result of the offensive.