Monday, June 28, 2021
Rainbow band on both teams
DFB-Elf goes on their knees with England
The national soccer teams of England and Germany will send signs of solidarity together before the kick-off of the European Championship round of 16. The DFB-Elf goes on their knees for the first time, while Harry Kane, as captain of the Three Lions, also runs up with the rainbow on his arm.
The German national soccer team will take a stand against racism at the European Championship and, like opponents England, will collectively go to their knees before the kick-off of the round of 16. This was announced by Captain Manuel Neuer at the press conference in London. The FC Bayern goalkeeper said they wanted to “show solidarity” with the Englishmen who showed this gesture at all games during the game on Tuesday evening (6 p.m. / ARD, Magenta TV and in the live ticker at ntv.de) Munich.
“We stand for tolerance. It wasn’t a question for us. We’ll go with it immediately,” said Neuer. In return, England’s captain Harry Kane, like Neuer, will wear the rainbow armband for tolerance and diversity on his arm as captain. “The English show solidarity with the armband and want to show it,” said Neuer, who sees it as “a strong sign”. Kane, the goalscorer of the Three Lion, wants to send a signal to the end of “Pride Week” and for the LGBTQI + community around the world, said the England national team.
The abbreviation LGBTQI + stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, trans and other non-heterosexual people or people who do not identify with the traditional role model of men and women or other social norms relating to gender and sexuality.
Many teams join the kneeling position
Joachim Löw welcomed the decision to make the symbolic gesture. “I think it’s right that the team should stand up for these values,” said the national coach. He has emphasized several times that it is good that the DFB-Elf stand for these values.
After a brief examination, UEFA allowed the rainbow armband to be worn, but then rejected the city of Munich’s application for the arena to be illuminated in these colors. The continental association had to take a lot of criticism for this. The interim investigations against the DFB because of the rainbow band had been made public by ntv, and UEFA reacted on the same evening that it did not see any political sign.
Several teams had already demonstrated the knee gesture at the EM. Most recently, on Sunday evening in Belgium’s game against Portugal (1-0), all players kneeled before the game. The German referee Felix Brych also joined. The gesture is now mandatory for the 1966 world champions and the Premier League clubs.
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