Almost half of Germans do not want to mix sports with politics, according to the results of a survey commissioned by the news agency DPA and conducted by “YouGov”.
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46% of respondents believe that large sports forums, such as the Olympic Games and football tournaments, should not shed light on political issues. On the other hand, 38% of respondents believe that political topics should be on the agenda of these events.
After the finals of the World Cup, in which Germany did not get out of the subgroup, the head coach of the national team, Hansi Flick, criticized the excessive politicization of the event, stressing that the players should focus on the performance on the field.
“That’s our job – it would be nice if we were allowed to do it. There are others trained for politics,” Flick said.
During the first week of the tournament in Qatar, seven European teams were banned from wearing multi-colored armbands with the words “One Love” during their matches. Fans were also upset that they were not allowed to bring items in the colors of the rainbow, which symbolize LGBTQ rights, into the stadiums.
In the conservative Islamic country of Qatar, anti-gay laws and treatment of LGBTQ people gained attention when it became known that the final tournament of the World Cup would be held there. Qatar announced that matches in this tournament are open to everyone, including LGBTQ fans, but guests must respect the country’s culture.
