Almost half of Germans do not want to mix sport with politics, according to the results of a survey commissioned by the Dpa news agency and conducted by “YouGov”.
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46% of respondents believe that large sports forums, such as the Olympic Games and soccer tournaments, should not shed light on political issues. On the other hand, 38% of respondents believe that political issues should be on the agenda of these events.
After the World Cup finals, in which Germany did not come out of the subgroup, the national team coach, Hansi Flick, criticized the excessive politicization of the event, underlining that the players should focus on their performance on the pitch.
“This is our job – it would be nice if we were allowed to do it. There are others trained for politics,” Flick said.
During the first week of the tournament in Qatar, seven European teams were banned from wearing multicolored ‘One Love’ armbands during their matches. Fans were also upset that they were not allowed to bring items in the colors of the rainbow, which symbolize LGBTQ rights, into stadiums.
In the conservative Islamic country of Qatar, anti-gay laws and treatment of LGBTQ people drew attention when it became known that the final tournament of the World Cup would be held there. Qatar has announced that matches in this tournament are open to all, including LGBTQ fans, but guests must respect the country’s culture.
