Football: Hans-Joachim Watzke demands that Felix Nmecha refrain from religious crown celebrations

»He was with the national team and I was at home on the sofa. We had a video call," said Watzke in the podcast "Of All Things." He said to the 26-year-old: "If you notice that it's dividing the fans, maybe you'll have the insight to just stop doing it." Nmecha agreed to think about it. “He wants to think about it,” said Watzke.

After his goals last weekend for Borussia Dortmund against SV Elversberg (2-1), Nmecha once again showed the religiously motivated crown celebration. According to his own statement, he thereby demonstrates his connection to Jesus and God. The symbolism is used by the “Ballers in God” network. It has been criticized for homophobic and anti-queer statements made by its members, including Nmecha.

This part of the cheering also bothered Watzke. »When I look at what they stand for: Borussia Dortmund's basic code of values ​​and Ballers in God's basic assessment are now also not compatible. And we don’t want that in our living room either,” said Watzke.

Agreement with Klopp and Völler

At the same time, the BVB president emphasized that he was expressly not interested in prohibiting religious gestures from devout Christians. »Nobody wants to ban anything here, nobody wants to punish. We rely more on insight." He himself is a practicing Catholic and "the last person who wants to forbid someone from praying," said Watzke.

According to his own statements, DFB Vice President Watzke also discussed this with national coach Jürgen Klopp and DFB sports director Rudi Völler, who also spoke to Nmecha. “I hope that we can find a sensible solution,” said Watzke.

Nmecha himself had rejected the allegations. His cheering should express his Christian convictions. He neither wants to support an organization nor promote intolerance or discrimination.