Coach Christian Streich from the Bundesliga club SC Freiburg has called on professional football and its fans to take part in the nationwide demonstrations against right-wing extremism. “If you don’t get up now, you haven’t understood anything. (….) It’s five minutes to twelve. (….) Everyone in this country is called upon to stand up and take a very clear position in their family circles, at work or elsewhere,” said Streich on Thursday when asked how he sees the role of football and its fans when protesting against right-wing extremism. “Stand up, unmistakably, very clear edge. Nothing else.”
Streich himself took part in an anti-right rally in Freiburg on Wednesday. Now he explained that football fans are citizens, but also football coaches or business bosses. Anyone who stays seated now hasn’t understood anything. “Nobody should whine when they are ruled by an authoritarian, right-wing nationalist group” in which basic freedom rights “go to waste”. Everyone in Germany must take responsibility.
“I have been living in a democracy as a free person for 58 years,” explained Streich, who was born in South Baden in 1965. “That is unbelievably lucky.” There are only a few people of this age in the world who could live so freely. It is therefore unbelievable what vocabulary is currently being used by the “so-called middle”.
Protests against “remigration”
The media company “Correctiv” reported last week on a meeting on November 25, 2023, at which right-wing radicals met with politicians from the AfD and CDU in a Potsdam villa. The former head of the Identitarian Movement in Austria, Martin Sellner, said he spoke there about “remigration”.
When right-wing extremists use the term, they usually mean that large numbers of people of foreign origin should leave the country – even under duress. As a result, people across the country took to the streets against it.
Marco Rose also comments
RB Leipzig’s coach Marco Rose also supports the many demonstrations against right-wing extremism and sees them as an important sign of society. “I believe that it is very important to stand up against stupidity and right-wing extremism in all forms. I think it’s good that people are doing that, that they are clearly showing their colors and taking to the streets,” said the 47-year-old on Thursday.
A demonstration will take place in Leipzig on Sunday afternoon. Rose left it open whether he would take part. “It’s important that you stand up to it and set an example and don’t trivialize it, but rather be there and if the time is there and it needs it, then I’ll always be there,” said the coach.
A comment from Jasper von Altenbockum Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 262 Eckart Lohse, Berlin Published/Updated: Recommendations: 25 A comment from Reinhard Müller Published/Updated: Recommendations: 89
Regarding the AfD, Rose said that the party “sends relatively clear signals and has wings that cannot simply be negated.” “And you can’t tolerate that and you can’t accept that, because if you look away for too long when something is stupid, then it can become dangerous,” said the coach. Accordingly, it is important to make clear constitutional decisions.
