Germany’s U-17 Men’s Football Team (Credit: Twitter)
The German soccer federation has had to limit comments on the Facebook page of its junior teams following a slew of racist and discriminatory comments against its Under-17 players.
The German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday condemned racist abuse directed at members of the under-17 national team on social media and warned offenders it could pursue legal action.
The federation posted a picture of four players from the Germany U17 team, all Black, celebrating Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the United States in the round of 16 at the U17 World Cup in Indonesia.
But the post was met by a torrent of racist comments from a host of Facebook users about the players – Charles Herrmann, Almugera Kabar, Paris Brunner (all from Borussia Dortmund) and Fayssal Harchaoui (Cologne).
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The federation responded by switching off comments and posting a statement of its own.
“We’re proud of the diversity in our Under-17s, who are currently playing their hearts out in Indonesia,” the federation said.
“Our commitment to diversity is firmly anchored in the federation’s statutes — as are the values of tolerance and respect. If you don’t share these values, please unfollow us. Discriminatory and racist comments have no place here and will be deleted accordingly. We will take legal action against offensive content.”
The German FA confirms that Bundesliga players will not be sanctioned for making anti-racism protests during games.“The DFB is firmly against all forms of racism, discrimination and violence and stands for tolerance, openness and diversity.” pic.twitter.com/MpVsMX2Ewz
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 3, 2020
2014 World Cup winner Jerome Boateng, 35, spoke out on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.
“German junior national players were racially insulted after a win at the World Cup for Germany? In 2023? Are you serious? When will this ever stop?” he posted.
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Boateng, a fixture in the Germany side for several years, was subject to similar abuse during his career.
In 2016, deputy leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party Alexander Gauland said “people like him as a football player, but they don’t want to have a Boateng as a neighbour.”
Jérôme Boateng on racism in football: ‘I often hear monkey sounds when I warm up. When right-wing slogans reach the heart of society, everybody should get up and take a stand. We could have done much more for Mesut.’Absolutely awful to hear, credit to him for speaking out.
— Patrick Timmons (@PatrickTimmons1) November 9, 2018
The Germany Under-17 team has won all its games at the World Cup so far and next faces Spain in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Herrmann, who was player of the match against the U.S., told the federation’s website Thursday that the team’s unity was a major factor in its success so far.
“We’re like a family and we support each other in every situation. We believe in ourselves every second and never give up,” Herrmann said. “That can take us to the final and to the title.”
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)
