Germany’s transition to the right leaves that mark in the country’s national game, causing all sorts of conflict.
Many German football clubs and fan groups have demonstrated against the far right over the past year, both on match days and on city street stadiums. Some major clubs in Germany’s top two leagues are Werder Bremen, VFL Bouchum, FSV Mainz 05, 1. He called on supporters to oppose right-wing extremism, including FC Cologne and Hanover 96.
The sustained success of German far-right alternatives (AFDs) appears to have thwarted attention leading up to the federal election on February 23rd. Tradition, fans say, “All Hamburg hates AFD!”
They also marked the International Holocaust Memory Day on January 27th, holding up a banner that reads “People who fight the Nazis cannot rely on the nation.”
More racism, more politics
However, this pouring of political sentiment is not universal. And for politically involved football fans, the overall trend of fans in recent years has been to move away from the obvious display of political loyalty.
“I want you to be more courageous,” said Rico Noack, chairman of Gesellschaftsspiele (“Social Games”), a soccer fan organization that helps promote an inclusive society. He has seen that “a fan group negotiates between them and decides something is “too political” and then settles down to the smallest possible consensus or say nothing.” said.
This is paradoxical, as German culture wars often focus on soccer. For example, the 2022 FIFA World Cup became political when the German national football team declared its intention to take the pitch with the “One Love” armband to protest host country laws regarding LGBTQ+ people. Ta.
Similarly, when Germany held the European Championship last year, the AFD used the opportunity to launch its own attack on what was considered “wokeness” in football. Maximilian Kura, the party’s leading candidate in the European elections in June, described Tiktok’s men’s team as “political correct merc soldiers.”
“It’s the rainbow team, the pride team,” he said. “We can ignore it.”
“Soccer is more political than ever,” Knock told DW. He believes that German political culture is turning the reflected in football culture to the right, but he added that “we’re not looking at the actual right wing flag” at the stadium.
But Norke and journalist Ronnie Brushke just published a book on racism in football and realized that racism is not a taboo in the stands.
“We observed a transition to the right of the stadium, especially after the so-called refugee crisis in 2015, as there are more racist incidents about the stands against black football players,” “We’re not There is massive racism and social media, so whenever there are black German national players for youth teams or national teams, look at the comments section of social media and see the many racist comments. You can find it.”
Other protesters were able to learn a lot from organized soccer fans.”
German soccer fan culture is complicated. Some clubs, like St. Pauli, have long had leftist identities. Others like Alemania Aachen, although the club itself denies this, are believed to have a connection to the far-right scene.
Meanwhile, many other clubs have a group of fans, both left and right. Norke also realized that in some fan groups, the club’s loyalty is a match day, and whatever political identity they have is not important.
Noak is also skeptical that political football fan culture can have a general impact on society. However, he believes that football fans have a special power. When organizing protests, they combine a opposing, rebellious spirit with a sense of unity and humor, sometimes lacking.
“You can learn a lot from organized soccer fans. Football fans are often very creative and good at knowing what to do to create effective images in the media. ” he said. “The classic examples are the use of fireworks and smoke bombs. They are always printed photos. Certainly, other protesters can learn something from it.”
“It feels like the last stand in Germany fighting for democracy.”
Susanne Franke is a board member of the Schalker Fan Initiative. Founded in 1992, a Schalke fans anti-racist organization, violent right-wing hooligans were regular sights of the football stadium.
Schalke is based in the town of Gersenkirchen, a former German industrial heartland in the Ruhr Valley. It was once a hub for the Social Democrats on the centre left, but the decline in the industry in Gelsenkirchen transformed the town into one of Germany’s poorest cities, and the far-right AFD took the position. Borussia Dortmund, the club’s neighbour and biggest rival, also has neo-Nazi conditions that listened a lot to the fan base dating back to the 1970s.
Franke is concerned that the culture of football is back in time. “It’s getting better and it’s getting worse now again. In many places, fans are struggling to control the story,” she told DW.
For Franke, her group’s work was further urgent when Christian Democrat leader Friedrich Merzz decided to pass a non-binding resolution through the German parliament with the help of the AFD. “To me, it feels like the last stand fighting for German democracy,” she said. “It’s very important to take this moment very seriously, whether you’re a soccer fan or not.”
Although there is no clear evidence that football fans are more or less politically involved than anyone else, the existence of football in German society is often more prominent when they express their political views.
“There are big opportunities in football and big reach,” Franke said. “In news, social media, and news from German society, it’s widely visible. That’s why I hope people take an honest position and say something.”
Editor: Rina Goldenberg
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