Comment: The AfD doesn't want to talk about football, they want to talk about skin colour.
Tonight, Germany plays against Serbia. For the AfD, a team photo is enough evidence for the "downfall of the nation". This is not a slip-up, but strategy.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been at odds with the German national football team for years, primarily due to the darker skin tones of many players and their foreign-sounding names. Following the 2016 European Championship (EM) elimination, Beatrix von Storch questioned if the national team could participate again.
During the 2024 EM, Björn Höcke admitted he could no longer identify with the team. In the aftermath of Greece's match, AfD Bundestag representative Kay Gottschalk posted a photo comparison to the 1990 World Cup squad, discussing culturally evolved "character traits, certain virtues, and team spirit." Gottschalk's party colleague Christopher Drößler, from Thuringia, warned of a demographic collapse, while extremist Martin Sellner claimed the national team could hardly be recognized as German without a flag.
Jürgen Klopp labeled such statements as stupidity, rightly so. The national team manager reacted with disgust to claims that his squad was not "white enough." This approach is clear and intolerable, with no room for differing opinions: anyone who judges players based on skin color disqualifies themselves.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
