No DFB punishment for players
THE German soccer federation will not punish players who protest against the killing of George Floyd and racism.
Several players in Germany have made statements with gestures or messages on their clothing since American Floyd died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee for several minutes on his neck.
The federation, known as the DFB, said yesterday it opposed punishing any players because it believes their anti-racism messages match the federation’s own principles.
“The DFB has made a strong stand against any form of racism, discrimination or violence and stands for tolerance, openness and diversity, values which are also anchored in the DFB’s statutes,” federation president Fritz Keller said in a statement. “Therefore the players’ actions have our respect and our understanding.”
The statement named four players who protested during last weekend’s games — Achraf Hakimi, Jadon Sancho, Weston McKennie and Marcus Thuram — but made clear the same approach would apply to any future protests.
The federation has not revoked a yellow card given to Sancho. The federation said on Monday that the Borussia Dortmund midfielder’s booking was for the act of removing his shirt, rather than for the “Justice for George Floyd” message written on his undershirt during Sunday’s 5-0 win over Paderborn.
Other players protested by kneeling, like Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Thuram, or by showing messages on an armband, like Schalke’s McKennie, or on boots, like RB Leipzig midfielder Tyler Adams. Only Sancho received a booking. Sancho’s teammate Hakimi also displayed a message on his undershirt.
There were also social media statements, such as one from United States national team goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who is on loan at Fortuna Duesseldorf but isn’t playing because of injury.
Anton Nachreiner, chairman of the DFB’s control body, said: “It goes without saying that the DFB’s control body always has FIFA and DFB regulations in mind.
In this specific case, however, these are deliberate actions of anti-racism by the players, who are thus campaigning for the very values which the DFB seeks to uphold.”
Germany’s approach has the backing of soccer’s world governing body FIFA, which forbids players expressing personal views about politics, religion and social issues on the field, and broke with its usual protocol and advised “common sense” in dealing with such incidents.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Tuesday that such demonstrations “deserve an applause and not a punishment.”
The English Football Association has already said it will adopt the stance urged by FIFA. The Premier League is due to resume on June 17 and clubs have been showing solidarity with Floyd.
Hungary has taken a different approach. Its soccer league gave a written reprimand to a player of African origin, Tokmac Nguen, who displayed a message in solidarity with Floyd after scoring a goal for Ferencvaros on Sunday.
UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, is also set to allow messages related to Floyd and anti-racism when the Champions League resumes.
The sporting world has united in solidarity behind the anti-racism protests sparked by a video of the police officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd for nearly nine minutes, causing his death.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were among the tennis players who joined the #BlackOutTuesday campaign against racial injustice.
Men’s world No. 1 Djokovic posted black screenshots on his Twitter and Instagram pages with the message “Black Lives Matter,” and was joined by Federer and Nadal, the other members of the “Big Three” of men’s tennis.
Grand Slam winners Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Stan Wawrinka were among other players who signalled their support for the campaign.
African-American teenager Coco Gauff and Japan’s Naomi Osaka have also expressed their anger over Floyd’s death.
(Agencies)