DW Fact Check: False Claim of Racist Petition Against National Team Players

It was another blow for the German national team: After group-stage exits at the World Cups in Russia and Qatar, Germany suffered another early exit on Monday. This time, at the FIFA World Cup 2026, a defeat to Paraguay, 4-3 on penalties in the round of 32. Midfielder Jonathan Tah missed the decisive spot-kick. Within minutes, numerous users wrote racist comments and insults on Tah's social media channels. Then, the following claim went viral:

Claim: Deutsche Welle reported that after Tah's missed penalty, some Germans were collecting signatures calling for a ban on "Africans" and "Muslims" from playing for the national team in the future. This was according to this Spanish-language post on X with more than two million views and this one with more than 900,000 views. The claim also circulated on other platforms such as Facebook.

DW Fact check: False

DW did not report on any such racist petition and we were unable to find any reports by other media outlets saying the anything similar. In addition, the DFB (German Football Association) told DW in a statement that it was not aware of any such petitions or initiatives, and that nothing of the sort had been reported to the DFB.

"Regardless of this, the content of such a claim blatantly contradicts the values that the DFB stands for. The DFB is firmly committed to diversity, integration, and respectful coexistence. Discrimination, exclusion, and racist stereotyping have no place in football or in our society,” the DFB added.

We were unable to find any such petition, either through a Google search or on petition platforms such as Change.org or OpenPetition.de. We also contacted the X accounts "Tendencia Final” (more than 30,000 followers) and "Motivaciones Futbol” (more than 670,000 followers), as well as the corresponding Facebook account, requesting a statement and evidence to support the claim. As of the time of publication of this article, we had not received a response.

A new rule to combat racism on the pitch

Racism in football, including at World Cups and European Championships, occurs on a regular basis. One well-known example came after England's Euro 2020 final defeat in 2021, also decided by a penalty shootout, when three Black England players were subjected to widespread racist abuse online.

For this World Cup, a new rule was introduced to help combat racism on the pitch; players who cover their mouth with their hand during an on-field confrontation may be shown a red card.

DW regularly reports on racism in football and on debates surrounding language in the sport, most recently in the case involving former Germany international Bastian Schweinsteiger.

However, the claim that DW reported on an alleged petition against players with migrant or Muslim backgrounds is false.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold