The German Football Association (DFB) denounced racist comments made on social media on Thursday against players on the under-17 national team, and it threatened to take legal action against those who continued the abuse.
Following Germany’s 3-2 victory over the USA in the round of 16 of the Under-17 World Cup in Indonesia, the DFB shared a photo of four team members.
However, a lot of racist remarks were posted on social media, disparaging the players in the image, who are all non-white: Charles Herrmann, Almugera Kabar, Paris Brunner, and Fayssal Harchaoui.
The DFB blocked comments on the page following the insults and released a statement stating, “We are proud of the diversity in our U17s, who are currently playing their hearts out on the pitch in Indonesia.”
“The DFB Statutes clearly establish our commitment to diversity as well as the ideals of respect and tolerance.
“Please unfollow us if these ideals are not shared by you. Comments that are racist or discriminatory have no place here and will be removed as such. Legal action will be taken against objectionable content.
Jerome Boateng, the 35-year-old World Cup winner from 2014, made a statement on Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“After Germany won the World Cup, racist taunts were directed towards the junior national team members of Germany? in 2023? Are you telling the truth? When will this end?” He shared.
During his career, Boateng, who was a regular in the Germany squad for a number of years, endured similar mistreatment.
According to Alexander Gauland, deputy head of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, “people like him as a football player, but they don’t want a Boateng as a neighbour” in 2016.
In the triumph over the USA, Herrmann was chosen player of the match. On Thursday, he told the DFB website, “we