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At the World Cup in Qatar, the Germans had to leave the tournament after the group stage – just like in 2018. In addition to the weak sporting performance, the OneLove band in particular caused a lot of discussion. Before the first World Cup match against Japan (1-2), Germany decided to take a picture with its hand in front of its mouth as a statement. According to German media, it now appears that only two players were behind this initiative.
Vincent Van GenechtenBron: The Telegraph
Prior to the tournament, the German federation had agreed with six other countries (such as Belgium) to wear the bracelet in question during the tournament. Shortly before the start of the World Cup, however, FIFA threatened with yellow cards if the belt was actually worn on the field. And so the countries involved still tacked. In the end, the German national team demonstrated in the team photo by having the players cover their mouths.
Apparently it was a big part of it The team not at all in the mood to make this gesture, the ARD reports. According to information from the German channel, only goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and midfielder Leon Goretzka wanted to make the gesture with the photo. The rest of the team would rather have done nothing. According to Bild, Neuer and Goretzka were the driving forces behind the discussions, with a few proposing other things. But other players would have been completely against doing anything.
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Joshua Kimmich was also in favor of the ‘hand over the mouth’ action, while the other internationals would look critically at the discussion. They would find it especially an annoying distraction and felt pressured.
According to ARD expert Thomas Hitzlsperger (40), the protest and the ongoing debate about political issues played a significant role in the elimination at the World Cup. “I think in the end the players got too involved with it and that was not good. But you also have to say that no player has ever used it as an alibi and I thought that was very, very good.”
