The abused European Football Championship
The first days of the Football-EM are diverse, beautiful, peaceful. The Scots are the embodiment of the big party, celebrating Europe as a guest in Germany. However, these images are being pushed to the background. Suddenly, it's ugly.
Last autumn, tournament director Philipp Lahm shared his vision for the Football-EM. He assigned a turning point in society to the tournament. He wished for the important values of the continent to be reinforced: Democracy, Freedom, Diversity, Tolerance, Integration. In the first days of the EM, he could observe his wish being fulfilled. There were many colorful images. The Scots, who received love from all sides, became the epitome of this. But then, darker clouds began to gather. And now, the tournament is firmly in the grip of political debates. It's about right-wing extremism, fascism, nationalism. The fractured nature of Europe is also evident on the largest continental sports stage. This is not surprising.
If someone still insists that sport is not political, they will be hit with this naivety in these days with full force. No one is talking about the thrilling football match between Austria and Turkey anymore, which goalkeeper Mert Günok decided with a sensational performance for Turkey. The emotional 2:1 victory in the Round of 16 against Ralf Rangnick's team is now the overriding theme, because Merih Demirel showed the wolf's salute as a sign of right-wing extremists in the country. It was the ugliest game of the EM. Hecklers emerged.
Even before the game, some Austrian fans sang the right-wing extremist Sylt-Hit of the season. On the North Sea island, they had changed "L'Amour toujours" by DJ Gigi D'Agostino into the racist slogan "Germany for the Germans, foreigners out!" The Austrians copied this now at the EM. This was not the first time that the fans from the Alpine Republic caused unease. Already during the 3:1 against Poland, "Defend Europe", a slogan of the Identitarian Movement, was read on a banner in the stadium.
The European Championship is teetering on the shaky ground of our society, which has lost its balance at the edges. The Left is wavering. The Right is growing massively stronger. The Center is losing power and above all sovereignty. The gray tones in the debates are disappearing. It's only black and white. Because in Germany, there was great indignation after the wolf's salute, the Turkish ambassador was summoned and the German ambassador in Ankara. Now, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is announcing his attendance at the Viertelfinale in Berlin. One can already imagine how heated the atmosphere in the capital will be at the weekend. Again, it's black and white.
The Colorful is Threatened to Disappear
It's not about singular events anymore, it's about the big picture. About Europe, about its values. About the future. And it's all being played out on the field. The stadium visit is long since free of ideology, and German fans can still wear as many pink jerseys as they want and invoke diversity. But during the last fan march in Dortmund, a men's trio spoke of every deportation being a good deportation. They wore the white Germany jersey.
Before the tournament, an ARD survey caused quite a stir. 21% of the respondents wished that there were more players with fair skin for the German team. Are they unhappy that Jamal Musiala has enchanted the country with his dribbling? That Antonio Rudiger is celebrated as a monster defender?
Defensive chief Rudiger has become a player in the German national team, best reflecting the conflict line of open society with nationalists. When he once raised his index finger and greeted Ramadan, he was attacked as an Islamist in right-wing circles. The former "Bild" editor Julian Reichelt launched a campaign against Rudiger, who reacted with a complaint. The world is always in a state of constant ecstasy. And that's not new in football. With the extreme swings of emotions, fans are well-acquainted. But it's about joy and frustration, anger and rage. Hate in certain groups also. But football was not the stage for the most heated ideological confrontations.
This EM was diverse and beautiful. It was great, a peaceful celebration of nations. Europe as a guest among friends. Now it's Sylt, migration, right-wing. Of course not in large numbers. In the queues, lanes, and buses, fan groups still sit together, laughing and making fun of each other. But it's not the many who are noticed, but the loud ones. And they are becoming more and more numerous and see the time has come to no longer hide. The Austrians jeered their nationalistic views like others before them. Everywhere in the country, videos of folk festivals appeared where people sang songs against foreigners and celebrated. At Public Viewings, the Hitler salute was shown again and again. In alarming parts of the Federal Republic, racism is accepted.
"Kill the Serbs"
D'Agostino's song was banned at the EM. It has not disappeared. When the Hungarian fans marched to the game against the Germans, they sang the song and held up a "Free Gigi" poster. During the match between Italy and Spain, groups sang the song in the stadium. It was unclear who these groups belonged to. Then Austria against Turkey - and more. Albanian striker Mirlind Daku sang anti-Macedonian and -Serbian songs. Some Albanians also caused great indignation by chanting "Kill the Serbs" together with Croats. Some Serb fans presented a map of the country including the since 2008 independent Kosovo. Everything suddenly appeared. The hatred, the hate.
In social networks, it went particularly high after the games of the Turks. In Dortmund, carnivals took place after the first two games, causing a traffic jam and a congested city center. Most of it went peacefully, friendly. But the extremes trolled each other, let loose, just hated. When a fan wave makes its way to the stadium, it now needs the epithet "Euphoria" to prevent negative connotations. Different from, for example, the Dutch, who with their "left, right"-cheers set the country in a state of excitement. At German folk festivals, brass music bands even play the song and dance on the wooden floor.
Rangnick spoke out against racists in a notable TV interview. French stars also used the power of their brand to make emotional appeals for France not to be handed over to the far-right. In the parliamentary election, this did not prevent the Rassemblement National, led by their charismatic figurehead Marine Le Pen, from becoming the strongest force. Before the upcoming runoff election, the country is sorting itself out, forging alliances against the extreme right. In Belgium, they have already taken control, and in the Netherlands, where the sharpest migration law of the EU is expected to be enacted in the future. But these are no longer the problems of others. The AfD is the second strongest force here. And even Le Pen and Italy's leader Giorgia Meloni are too extreme in their political views. At the EU level, a break was made with the AfD.
The AfD held their federal party conference in Essen over the past weekend. There were demonstrations, and there were also violent clashes with the police, who had to protect the party conference. On Saturday evening, the German national team played. It was a colorful festival in Dortmund. Many AfD politicians looked away; they can no longer identify with the team, which plays in pink jerseys. Controversial figure Maximilian Krah calls the DFB team a "Foreign Legion." No more rejection can be expressed. No more identification either. The EM is no longer diverse, unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly hateful, brown. Philipp Lahm can be saddened by this. In some moments of this tournament, Europe is united only in the rejection of the Foreigner.
Despite the initial diversity and celebration during the European Football Championship 2024, issues of racism and right-wing extremism have surfaced. Tournament director Philipp Lahm's wish for the event to promote values like democracy and integration has been overshadowed by controversial incidents, such as the display of the wolf's salute by Merih Demirel and the singing of right-wing extremist songs by fans. These incidents have sparked political debates and tensions, casting a dark cloud over the tournament.
The European Championship, being the largest continental sports stage, has not escaped the fractured nature of Europe. Issues of nationalism and fascism have become prevalent, with fans from countries like Austria and Hungary singing racist slogans and displaying symbols associated with right-wing extremism. These incidents have led to international tensions, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announcing his attendance at the quarterfinals in Berlin, amidst protests and controversy.
