- Goering-Eckardt: A controversial tweet from the European Commission has sparked debate
Your controversial tweet about the skin color of players in the football national team has, from the perspective of Bundestag Vice-President Katrin Göring-Eckardt, not only caused outrage but also sparked an important debate. "At least, the controversy after the tweet has shifted the focus to what really matters," said the Green Party politician to the German Press Agency. "To the crucial questions: How do we live together? Do we accept that we are different? How do we talk about success stories?"
And she added: "Football is, so to speak, the last campfire of this republic, where everyone somehow gets to have their say and talk to each other. We can't talk enough about this question of living together. But I fear: It's still not resolved in our society. We are far from the normality of diversity."
"Hindsight is always 20/20"
Göring-Eckardt had written on the platform X after a victory of the German footballers against Hungary during the European Championship in June: "This team is truly amazing. Imagine if there were only white German players." After a storm of outrage, she deleted the post and apologized: "I'm sorry for how I phrased it. I was upset that 21% of Germans would prefer more 'whites' in the national team."
Looking back, the Green Party politician said several weeks later: "Hindsight is always 20/20. I understand now that not everyone immediately saw or wanted to see the connection to a survey, in which 21 percent of Germans wished for more white footballers in the national team. This number really affected me."
The controversy surrounding Göring-Eckardt's tweet has significantly shifted the focus towards promoting inclusion and understanding in football, emphasizing the importance of diversity. In retrospect, Göring-Eckardt acknowledged that her wording could have been clearer, recognizing that not everyone immediately understood the connection to the survey about white footballers in the national team.
