Monday, June 21, 2021
Too colorful for the football association?
The print on the UEFA is rainbow-colored
The European Football Union is coming under a lot of pressure. After investigations against the DFB team because of the rainbow-colored bandage of captain Manuel Neuer, Munich politicians are now calling for an equally illuminated EM arena. In the game against Hungary, of all places, that would be a strong sign.
Either it will be too colorful for UEFA with the politicized European Championship – or the association will put a colorful exclamation mark for diversity: shortly before the last preliminary round match of the German national soccer team against Hungary on Wednesday (9 p.m. / ZDF, MagentaTV and in the ntv.de live ticker) the European Football Union (UEFA) has to give a quick answer to the “rainbow question”. The city of Munich has officially formulated its demand for an arena illuminated in six colors.
It is about “a symbol in the sense of cosmopolitanism and tolerance” as well as “a widely visible signal for our common understanding of values”, it says in the letter from Mayor Dieter Reiter to the UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin and the German ex-member Rainer Koch, that reflects the will of the Munich City Council across all political groups.
According to Reiter, the focus of Parliament is on “the restrictions that are in place in Hungary on the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender (LGBTIQ) people”. He therefore appeals to UEFA “also on the occasion of EURO 2020, with its media coverage, to work emphatically and visibly for tolerance and equality.”
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder would also find it “a very good signal if the rainbow colors were shining”. “That would be a signal that stands for the freedom of our society,” said the CSU politician.
Hungary’s defender is for Bunt
Hungary’s defender Willi Orban would also welcome a brightly colored arena. “Personally, I would like it if the stadium were colorful,” said the defender of RB Leipzig in the Hungarian EM quarters in Telki near Budapest: “So far, I’ve only seen it blue in the second division against 1860 Munich and red against FC Bavaria. So I would be happy if the lamps were allowed to shine brightly. “
Now the association, as the host of the tournament, has to make a decision. It still seems unclear what result UEFA will come to. In any case, the signals that were sent out last by the tournament organizer were different.
On the one hand, UEFA is investigating reports of discrimination at the European Championship venue Budapest. On the other hand, the association checked the rainbow armband of the German captain Manuel Neuer in the two previous group games – which caused great astonishment despite the rapid termination of the proceedings. Neuer will wear his rainbow armband against Hungary despite the hype.
Diversity or closeness to Orban?
It seems that UEFA is in serious trouble with the Munich offensive, which is unequivocally directed against the policies of the right-wing national government of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban. On the one hand, the association cannot really oppose the action after its massive campaigns for diversity. However, at the same time, UEFA is said to be close to Orban, which is viewed critically from many sides.
Hungary’s government recently passed a law against “advertising” for homosexuality through parliament, thereby triggering fierce criticism. According to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Hungary is threatened with a review of the law. The Lesbian and Gay Association in Germany (LSVD) sees the law as the “new high point in the invisibility and disenfranchisement of lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI)”.
With its points of view, the LSVD finds open ears with the German national players. “As a football world, you can currently see very well that we want to counter racism and homophobia with diversity,” said Leon Goretzka: “Manu wore the rainbow flag on our arms and there are plans that the Allianz Arena should shine in the colors, which I think is a great idea. I am happy about it and am happy about every symbol that is set. “
With the issue of racism raised by Goretzka, Hungary has moved back into focus in the past few days of the European Championship. In the previous games of the Hungarians in Budapest (0: 3 against Portugal and 1: 1 against France) the notorious “Carpathian Brigade” appeared in the stadium. The black-clad mob is believed by experts to be a paramilitary group made up of neo-Nazis. According to various reports, the members of the brigade are said to have attracted attention through homophobic and racist remarks, and the Hitler salute was also shown. Should the “problem fans” make their way to Munich, the Bavarian capital faces a massive security problem on Wednesday – despite the 1000 police officers who will be on duty.
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