ZTwo months before the German national team’s first World Cup game against Japan, the debate about the appropriate attitude towards tournament host Qatar continues. The focus of criticism is currently the captain’s armband, intended as a symbol for the DFB team and other major football nations such as England, France or the Netherlands, with a color scheme resembling the rainbow flag. Professionals like Manuel Neuer, England’s center forward Harry Kane or France’s world champion goalkeeper Hugo Lloris want to wear them in Qatar as a clearly visible symbol on their upper arms.
“To me, this idea seems like a poor attempt to step on nobody’s toes – neither the Pride movement nor the organizers of the World Cup. But human rights are not negotiable, ”said FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Saai of the German Press Agency on Friday. “If you want to stand up credibly against discrimination and for human rights and diversity, then you should also have the necessary backbone,” warned Djir-Sarai.
DFB President defends design
“That seems weak. It’s not even the Pride flag, it has other colors on it. If it’s the only thing that comes down to attitude from the DFB, that would be embarrassing to catastrophic. I expect from the DFB and I also think that there will be more,” said the representative of the fan organization “Our Curve”, Dario Minden, the “Tagesspiegel”.
Meanwhile, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf defended the new “One Love” armband of the German national team. As a symbol, it goes beyond the rainbow bandage, Neuendorf emphasized this Friday before the Nations League game in Leipzig against Hungary on ZDF: “It’s a sign of diversity, openness and tolerance – not just for LGBTQ, but for women’s rights , freedom of expression and employee rights.” The piece of cloth worn by the captains of ten European national teams also stands for “the gay and lesbian scene,” said Neuendorf, concluding: “I’m happy with the bandage and that so many gather countries behind it.”
Daily confrontation
The legal situation for members of the “LGBTIQ* community” in Qatar is currently the focus of criticism – even more than the critical situation for guest workers. Representatives of the “LGBTIQ* community” have so far advised against traveling to Qatar. The English abbreviation stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans people, intersex and queer people. The asterisk is a placeholder for additional identities and genders.
The national players will be involved almost every day in the current international matches in the Nations League against Hungary (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Nations League and on ZDF) and on Monday in England (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Nations League and on RTL). confronted with the topic. Not an easy situation to solve, as Hansi Flick stated. “It’s easy to always criticize when you’re sitting somewhere and not making the decision,” said the national coach before the Hungary game in Leipzig.
“The point now is that it’s not just the colors of the rainbow, but all of them. It means everyone, every single person who is sitting here, who is in the world. That’s what it’s about, that we’re the same,” argued Flick. So all the fuss just a color misunderstanding? According to the DFB, the bandage should not represent a rainbow at all. Rather, the message of the ‘One Love Bracelet’ should be directed against any form of discrimination.
“Red, black and green are found in the Pan-African flag, pink, yellow and blue symbolize the Pansexual flag. The nations involved in the ‘One Love Bracelet’ campaign want to send a positive message for all forms of diversity,” said the DFB on Friday. The Dutch have been using the logo for some time and made the proposal to their European colleagues to share it. DFB captain Neuer played with a rainbow armband at the 2021 European Championship.
social expectations
The national players were made aware of the Qatar problem by the DFB in several workshops. “It won’t be the only action we’re seeing. We try to do our part. Simply looking the other way would be worse,” said Jonas Hofmann from Gladbach at the presentation of the captain’s armband with the ‘One Love’ imprint. The 30-year-old professional reacted calmly to the criticism of the color nuances. “A few colors of the rainbow were in it. Everyone knows what is meant,” said Hofmann.
At the beginning of the week at the association congress on the human rights situation in Qatar, DFB director Oliver Bierhoff made clear the conflict for football professionals between sport and social expectations. “We have to be careful to find this balancing act between responsibility and the awareness that we as humans have. On the other hand, we come across as the German national soccer team. We represent our country, we want to play football successfully,” said the 54-year-old.
National player Nico Schlotterbeck doesn’t see the footballers as the first thing to do. “In my opinion, we players can’t influence much anyway, it’s primarily a matter for the officials and politics. We athletes did not award the tournament to Qatar,” said the 22-year-old to the editorial network Germany. The task of the players is to have maximum success at the World Cup. Football must be there for everyone and be open to everyone. “He stands for diversity,” said the Borussia Dortmund defender.
