AfD politicians attack the German national team racistly

The AfD has been at loggerheads with the German national team for years. Their problem is clearly the dark skin of many players and their foreign-sounding names. After the 2016 European Championship exit, Beatrix von Storch asked whether the German national team could play again next time. Björn Höcke said during the 2024 European Championship that he could no longer identify with the team.

This time, the line-up from the Greece game is enough to once again judge the affiliation of German footballers on Platform X. The AfD member of the Bundestag Kay Gottschalk spreads a photo comparison with the World Cup team from 1990 and writes about culturally grown “character traits, certain virtues and team spirit”. As if a player's team spirit and character could be judged by the color of their skin.

Gottschalk's parliamentary group colleague, MP Christopher Drößler from Thuringia, immediately warns of demographic collapse. And the right-wing extremist Martin Sellner says that without a flag the national team can hardly be recognized as German.

Jürgen Klopp has found the right word for such statements: stupidity. The national coach reacts with disgust to the claim that his team is not white enough. He is absolutely right. How can you seriously try to question the composition of your team with racist accusations? The actions of individual AfD politicians are transparent and intolerable at the same time. There can be no two opinions here: anyone who judges players based on skin color is disqualifying themselves.