The German U-17 footballers won the World Cup title, but received hateful comments on the Internet. Image: picture alliance/dpa/AP
The Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office is opening 14 investigations against people who posted racist comments on the DFB’s social media channels during the U-17 World Cup.
The Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office has initiated 14 investigations on suspicion of sedition against people who posted racist comments on the social media channels of the German Football Association (DFB) during the recent U-17 World Cup.
In four cases, the suspects have already been identified beyond doubt and the cases have been handed over to the responsible public prosecutor’s offices outside of Hesse, the DFB and the Central Office for Combating Internet Crime (ZIT) of the Public Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Tuesday.
In other cases, the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office considers the offense of insult and the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations to be met.
Sebastian Stier, Berlin Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 4 Christopher Meltzer Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 6 Elisabeth Schmelzerl, Munich Published/Updated: Recommendations: 4
DFB selection players were also racially insulted during the U-21 European Championship in June, and the association also cooperated with the ZIT back then. The cooperation is working “excellently,” the DFB quotes its first vice-president Ronny Zimmermann: “We hope that the first identifications and prosecutions of perpetrators will have a deterrent effect.”
