EM 2021: UEFA investigates against DFB because of Manuel Neuer’s rain floor bandage
Manuel Neuer Germany Portugal 19062021
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Manuel Neuer wore a rainbow armband when the DFB-Elf beat Portugal 4-2. The UEFA is therefore now investigating against the DFB.
UEFA has started investigations against the DFB as part of the 2021 European Championship. That became Goal and SPOX Confirmed from UEFA circles after first RTL/ntv.de had reported about it. The reason for this is Manuel Neuer’s rainbow captain’s armband, which he wears as part of the “Pride Month” June as a symbol for the LGBTQ community.
UEFA regards wearing the rainbow armband as a political symbol, which is prohibited according to the UEFA statutes. The DFB could therefore face a fine.
Neuer had the armband in rainbow colors, which are a symbol of the LGBT community, in the first two European Championship group games against France (0: 1) and Portugal (4: 2), as well as in the last preparatory game before the Euro against Latvia (7: 1) worn.
For the LGBTQ community, June is “Pride Month”, during which people celebrate their own identity and demonstrate their rights. “That is unacceptable,” said Christian Rudolph, national board member of the Lesbian and Gay Association in Germany ntv.
The investigation against the DFB is “a fatal sign” from UEFA, which has to think about whom it represents. “How should the athletes think about it now? We are striving for open football. And this month we also want to send a signal to all the athletes from the LGBTI community,” continued Rudolph.
DFB team against Hungary: a political EM game
The UEFA investigation into the DFB’s support for the community comes at a racy time. Before the final group game against Hungary on Wednesday, the city of Munich wants to illuminate the Allianz Arena in rainbow colors.
On Monday, Munich’s Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter intends to submit a cross-party proposal from the Munich City Council to UEFA on this matter. This should be a “visible sign of solidarity with the LGBTI community in Hungary”.
Background: Last Tuesday, the Hungarian parliament passed a law at the request of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which prohibits the provision of information in the form of books, brochures, awareness-raising campaigns and advertising for young people regarding homosexuality and transsexuality. The Hungarian government had previously banned homosexuals from adopting children.
The Munich city government now wanted to oppose this route: “The state capital is committed to diversity, tolerance and real equality in sport and in society as a whole,” said the application to UEFA for a rainbow-colored Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
