Message to DFB
Uefa closes investigations into rainbow captaincy armband
Apparently the subject of Uefa investigations: The rainbow captain’s armband that national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer wears during the current ‘Pride Month’.
© Matthias Hangst / Getty Images
Excitement about the rainbow captain’s armband from Manuel Neuer. Uefa checked on Sunday whether the DFB was making an illegal political statement with the armband. The investigation was discontinued that same day.
The European Football Union briefly checked whether national goalkeeper Manuel New may still wear his rainbow captain’s armband. This review had already been stopped on Sunday evening, announced the DFB via Twitter. The rainbow band is rated “as a symbol of the team for diversity and thus as a ‘good cause'”.
Just over an hour and a half earlier, the DFB had confirmed that Uefa was dealing with the case. “The regulations state that the armband officially provided by the Uefa must be worn,” said the German Football Association (DFB) on Sunday evening and at the same time pointed out that June “is also a year of ‘Pride’ in sport “stand to stand up for more diversity.
Uefa is usually strict about non-sporting embassies
Neuer is wearing this captain’s armband as a symbol and “a clear commitment by the entire team to diversity, openness, tolerance and against hatred and exclusion. The message is: we are colorful!” Announced the DFB. The Uefa now apparently recognized this in their examination. RTL and n-tv.de initially reported on the investigation. Neuer had worn the captain’s armband in both German European Championship games against France (0: 1) and against Portugal (4: 2). It was said that there was a fine in the room.
Basically, Uefa acts very strictly when it comes to embassies outside of the sporting arena. According to the Uefa statutes, anyone who “uses sporting events for non-sporting rallies” violates the “general principles of conduct”. The umbrella organization recently even welcomed the protests against racism during the European Championship – including the kneeling down of some teams before kick-off. Whether the protests on social media, which grew rapidly after the first news, influenced Uefa’s decision remained open at first.
Christian Rudolph from the national board of the Lesbian and Gay Association in Germany (LSVD) criticized the Uefa investigations against n-tv. “That is unacceptable,” said Rudolph. “It is a fatal sign. We are currently in ‘Pride Month’ and at the most important sporting event of the month we want to prevent the wearing of a rainbow captain’s armband? The Uefa must also think about who it represents,” said the LSVD federal executive committee to n -tv. “It was important to us that Neuer can wear the rainbow captain’s armband for the entire month. These are now the values that the DFB represents.”
Decision on the Munich arena is pending
That Uefa will now also allow the Munich European Championship stadium to shine in rainbow colors at the German group final on Wednesday against Hungary is still questionable. Munich’s Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) wants to submit a corresponding application to Uefa this Monday. The background to this is a law approved by the Hungarian Parliament that restricts young people’s rights to information about homosexuality and transsexuality. So far, Uefa has not commented on this issue. The case is likely to be different, however, since the lighting for this occasion is a clear criticism of the policy of the Hungarian government. Uefa is always critical of such political statements.
swell: News agency DPA, n-tv.de, DFB
