German coach Julian Nagelsmann has attacked a “racist” poll asking fans if they wanted more white players in the national team.
A total of 21 percent agreed with the proposal when responding to a survey by German public broadcaster ARD, which provoked much consternation.
Nagelsmann, 36, said he agreed with German midfielder Joshua Kimmich, who described the questionnaire as “racist” a day earlier.
“It’s racist,” Nagelsmann said. “I feel like we need to wake up. Many people in Europe had to flee… in search of a safe country.”
ARD said it commissioned the research after a reporter working on a documentary about football and diversity was repeatedly asked about the composition of the national team. The German national team has had a less mixed heritage in recent decades, but now has a diverse lineup, with captain Ilkay Gündogan and winger Leroy Sané among the team’s main stars. Nagelsmann said his team would play “for everyone in the country.”
“Joseph [Kimmich] responded very well, with a very clear and considered statement,” Nagelsmann said of the research while speaking at a briefing at his team’s training base. “I look at it exactly the same way. This question is crazy. There are people in Europe who had to flee because of wars, economic factors, environmental disasters, people who simply want to be welcomed.
“We have to ask what are we doing right now? We in Germany are doing really, really well, and when we say something like that, I think it’s crazy how we close our eyes and just block these things out.”
The survey was carried out among 1,304 randomly selected respondents in Germany, which hosts Euro 2024 this summer. Karl Valks, the ARD sporting director who commissioned the research, was quoted as saying that the company was “dismayed that the results are what they are, but they are also an expression of the social situation in Germany today.”
“Sport plays an important role in our society, the national team is a strong example of integration,” he told German media.
Germany starts the competition with a clash against Scotland at Munich’s Allianz Arena on June 14th. Last month, Adidas was forced to ban fans from purchasing German football kits personalized with the number 44 due to the font’s similarity to the symbol used by Nazi SS units.
