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The Allianz Arena in an older photo in the rainbow colors
Photo:
Tobias Hase / dpa
In their last European Championship preliminary round, the German national soccer team will meet Hungary - and the venue, the Munich Arena, could shine in the colors of the rainbow.
The lighting should be a sign of tolerance.
Indirectly, however, it can also be seen as a criticism of Hungary, which EU country recently passed several anti-gay laws.
While CSU boss Markus Söder welcomed the idea of rainbow lighting, Hungary reacted angrily to the advance.
"It is extremely harmful and dangerous to mix sport and politics," said Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, according to the MTI news agency.
"Historical experience shows that this is a bad thing and the Germans in particular know that very well."
Hungary's parliament passed a law on Tuesday last week that bans "advertising" for homosexuality or sex reassignment among minors.
The EU Commission has already announced that it will examine the controversial law.
In a cross-party motion, the Munich city council had spoken out in favor of illuminating the football stadium for the group game against Hungary on Wednesday in the rainbow colors.
Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) asked the European Football Union (Uefa) and the German Football Association (DFB) in a letter on Monday to »support this symbol for cosmopolitanism and tolerance«.
The final decision rests with UEFA as the host of the European Football Championship.
"I think it would be good if the rainbow colors would shine," said Bavaria's Prime Minister Söder in Berlin.
This would be "a signal for the openness of our society".
AfD speaks of "left-green agitprop"
The FDP politician Marco Buschmann also welcomed the plans.
"If people in Hungary are discriminated against because of their sexual identity, then that contradicts the values of the European Union and also of the values of the Free Democrats," said the parliamentary manager of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag of the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung".
The FDP advocates tolerance and self-determination and has therefore initiated the corresponding application in the Munich city council.
The deputy AfD leader Beatrix von Storch, however, was outraged by the plan: Munich's mayor wanted to use the last preliminary round game "for left-green agitprop against Hungary."
"The planned lighting of the arena in the colors of the gay rainbow is directed against Hungary's freely and democratically elected government," explained von Storch.
The Hungarian national football player Willi Orban, on the other hand, would like to see the Munich EM arena in rainbow colors: "Personally, I would like it if it were colorful," said the 28-year-old defender.
mrc / dpa