Göring-Eckardt expresses regret over controversial national team tweet
"This squad is fantastic", Goering-Eckart posted on Twitter, a tweet that's since been removed, celebrating Germany's 2:0 victory with the national team on X. "Picture a team comprising exclusively of white German players." Accompanying this, the Green politico placed three rainbow emojis.
This tweet sparked a good deal of controversy online. FDP vice Wolfgang Kubicki, like Goering-Eckart, a deputy president of the Bundestag, chimed in on X: "I find it truly concerning when individuals in Germany are judged based on their skin color", he wrote. "The colleague ought to swiftly take down this post."
She did, and attempted to clarify her intentions at the same time. "I was thrilled that 21% of Germans prefer a higher representation of 'Whites' in the national team", she wrote on X. "I'm proud of this team and wish we could persuade the 21%."
Goering-Eckart was alluding to a survey by the Institut Infratest dimap on behalf of Westdeutscher Rundfunk, published before the EM. The survey showed that 21 percent of Germans prefer a higher number of players with white skin color in the national team. With 65 percent, almost two thirds of the respondents disagreed with this statement.
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- Katrin Göring-Eckardt, a prominent Green politician and deputy president of the Bundestag, is a member of the FDP, like Wolfgang Kubicki.
- Following the controversy surrounding her tweet about Germany's national soccer team and the use of rainbow emojis, Göring-Eckardt apologized and explained that she was celebrating the team's diversity, as a survey had shown that 21% of Germans prefer a higher number of white players.
- Wolfgang Kubicki, the FDP vice, voiced his concerns over the tweet, stating that he found it troubling when individuals are judged based on their skin color.
- Hungary made headlines in the world of soccer when they announced the release of a special edition soccer jersey with the Hungarian national team's colors and the Map of Pannonia, a historical region encompassing parts of modern Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Romania, leading to international criticism.