EXPLAINED: How a “sh**ty” survey brings to light Germany’s racism problem ahead of Euro 2024

With Germany set to host its biggest football summer since the 2006 World Cup, dark clouds loom over the three time European Championship-winning nation. A large number of fans arriving may find themselves in a very different county than the one that welcomed the football world 18 years ago. One more particular about who its inhabitants are and how they look.

Why the noise?

Last Wednesday, an ARD documentary that aired in Germany revealed a shocking statistic. In a survey conducted by the network, 1,304 Germans were asked if they preferred to have more “white players” in the German national football team. While the majority answered against it (65 percent), 21 percent of the respondents agreed. This, a week before the country hosts its biggest football summer since the 2006 World Cup.

How did the German team respond to it?

When asked about his views on the documentary, national team head coach Julian Nagglesmann termed the survey, “sh**ty”.

A prominent feature of Germany’s starting XI, Joshua Kimmich said, “Anyone who’s grown up with football knows this is absolute nonsense. Football in particular is a good example of how you can unite different nations, different skin colours and different religions. That’s what our team is all about. I would miss a lot of players if they weren’t here. This is absolutely racist and has no place in our changing room.”

A large number of fans arriving may find themselves in a very different county than the one that welcomed the football world 18 years ago. (Reuters)

How have things changed in the country?

Since being founded in 2013, Alternative for Germany (AfD) – a right-wing populist political party – have found strong support in many of the German states. In the recent European Parliament elections, AfD defeated German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left SPD to second place. With its extreme anti-Islam, anti-immigration views, AfD politics – as shown in the ARD documentary – term racism in Germany as “Nothing very important”.

Has racism been an issue in German football?

Unlike Italy, France or even Spain, where racist incidents have taken an ugly turn during top-tier league games in stadiums, Germany football has been relatively successful at curbing the nuisance in the grounds but is still battling it in another form.

In 2023, Bayern published statements of support for French players Dayot Upamecano and Mathys Tel, victims of online attacks after poor performances.

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A big allegation pertaining to racism behind the doors in German football had come from former national team star Mesut Ozil. After he retired from international football in 2018, Ozil had raised the alarms against the German Football Association (DFB). Ozil, who was part of the 2014 World Cup-winning squad alongside several other immigrant players, had famously stated: I’m a German when we win but I am an immigrant when we lose.”

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