Germany's Head Soccer Coach Blasts 'Absolutely Racist' Poll

21% said they wanted to see more white players on country's national team
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 3, 2024 2:26 PM CDT
German Soccer Coach Slams 'Absolutely Racist' Survey
Germany's head coach Julian Nagelsmann speaks to the media in Berlin last month,   (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

The coach of Germany's national soccer team has condemned a survey that asked Germans whether they wanted to see more white players selected. At a press briefing Sunday, Julian Nagelsmann said he agreed with midfielder Joshua Kimmich, who described the poll as "absolute nonsense" and "absolutely racist," CNN reports.

  • The poll was commissioned by national broadcaster AFD as part of a documentary on diversity in soccer, the BBC reports. It found that 21% of 1,304 randomly selected respondents wanted to see more white players on the team.
  • The national team, which will take part in the Euro 2024 tournament later this month, includes several Black players and players with Turkish heritage, including the captain, Ilkay Gundogan.

  • "This question is insane," Nagelsmann said, per the AP. "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."
  • Nagelsmann said he agreed with Kimmich's remark that a soccer team can show how people of different backgrounds can work together toward a common goal. "We're playing a European Championship for everyone in the country," the coach said. "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 crap survey again."
  • Seb Stafford-Bloor at the Athletic notes that the controversy isn't new in Germany. In 2010, the children of immigrants made up more than half of the World Cup squad that made it to the semifinals in South Africa and "became a symbol of a modern, successful, and diverse Germany," he writes. But that was at the start of a "decade that was marred by incidents and, at times, toxic debates."
(More soccer stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X