A recent survey asked 1,304 randomly selected participants if they’d prefer to see more white players in the German national team ahead of the nation hosting Euro 2024
Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has condemned a controversial survey asking people if they’d prefer to see more white-skinned players in their national team.
German state broadcaster ARD carried out the survey using 1,304 randomly selected participants, of which 21 per cent responded saying yes. Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich labelled the survey “absolutely racist” and claimed that it was “madness for a public broadcaster to ask such a question.”
Naglesmann agrees, telling a press conference ahead of Germany hosting this summer’s European Championship : “I thought about it briefly, and I have the feeling that we need to wake up a bit. There are people in Europe who’ve had to flee because of war, economic factors, environmental disasters, people who simply want to be taken in.
“We have to ask what are we doing at the moment? We in Germany are doing very, very well, and when we say something like that, I think it’s crazy how we turn a blind eye and simply block out such things.”
Kimmich had also said that football teams can be shining examples of how people from different cultural and religious backgrounds can work together successfully in pursuit of a common goal. “Anyone who’s grown up with football knows this is absolute nonsense,” the Bayern star affirmed.
” 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.”
His manager also backed him on that point, with Nagelsmann adding: “I always find it bizarre that we all go on vacation to get to know other cultures and then other cultures come here and we complain about it. It’s bizarre. So, I can’t go on vacation then. I always have to stay where I am.
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“We’re playing a European Championship for everyone in the country. And anyone who can play top football is invited to be a national player and give their all for their country. And that’s what we’re doing. And I hope I never have to read about such a survey again.”
Nagelsmann’s Germany host Ukraine on Monday in their first warmup friendly and will then play Greece next Friday. A week later, Germany face Scotland in the opening game of Euro 2024 in Munich.
The hosts will then take on Hungary on Wednesday, June 19 and Switzerland on Sunday, June 23 in their other Group A fixtures, with Germany among the favourites to win the tournament.
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