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Manuel Neuer says he is saddened by the statements made by a World Cup ambassador
Photo:
Sven Hoppe / dpa
Shortly before the start of the soccer World Cup in Qatar (November 20 to December 18), there is indignation at the homophobic statements made by a World Cup ambassador.
“It's very oppressive.
That's an image of man from another millennium," commented national player Leon Goretzka on the statement by Qatar's World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman, who is one of several World Cup ambassadors and had described homosexuality as "mental damage" in a ZDF documentary.
"That's not what we want to stand for and what we set an example for," said Goretzka after Bayern Munich's Bundesliga game against Werder Bremen (6-1).
Manuel Neuer does not want to rule out that the national team will react again to the aggravated situation as a result of the statement.
»That doesn't fit into our worldview at all.
It's sad to hear something like that," said the DFB captain on Wednesday: "You have to think about such situations, we have to discuss that internally at the DFB with our fellow players."
Like Neuer and Goretzka, Hasan Salihamidžić also described the statement as “unacceptable”, but the Munich sports director dodged the question of the effects on Bayern’s contract with Qatar Airways: “You have to talk about it, of course, but it’s just a one-off for now Person."
Alexander Wehrle became clearer.
The boss of the board of VfB Stuttgart, who has long since admitted his homosexuality, does not want to "just go back to business as usual" as a reaction.
"Equating a sexual orientation with a mental illness - that's far from any idea that we have in our cultural circle," Wehrle said on Sky.
The President of the German Football Association (DFB), Bernd Neuendorf, said: "The derailment of the World Cup ambassador is completely out of the question and leaves us stunned." He sees the world association on the train: "From our point of view, Fifa should seriously examine whether the ethics committee does not have to deal with this.«
However, hardly anyone believes that anything can really be expected from FIFA, which has not yet commented on the incident.
"This is an absolute catastrophe for sport," commented Philip Krämer, Deputy Chairman of the Bundestag faction of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, on Salman's statement: "It counteracts FIFA's own guidelines."
The security guarantees for all World Cup visitors, which Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) had brought from Qatar, were described by Krämer as the "absolute minimum".
Faeser sees "no signs" of changes to the guarantee - but with regard to Qatar, where homosexuality is a criminal offence, there are serious doubts.
»Unfortunately, the statement fits the legislation.
Recently, an attempt was made to talk it up as safe, "said fan representative Helen Breit from "Our Curve": "We have asked for a full guarantee of safety, which is still not there."
Hitzlsperger would welcome coming out during the World Cup
The Federal Government insists on compliance with this guarantee.
It is "important and essential," said Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (DFB) on ZDF: "Homosexuality is not a disease.
Anyone who invites the world to a sports festival should have realized this long ago.«
If Thomas Hitzlsperger has his way, Salman's statements are at best taken ad absurdum by a player.
According to the former international, professionals could "feel both intimidated or challenged to come out" by the statements.
The openly homosexual Hitzlsperger would welcome a coming out during the World Cup.
»I would love it if someone did it.«
The Foreign Office, through its spokeswoman Andrea Sasse, has condemned the derogatory statements.
However, the Foreign Ministry is not currently planning a warning for LGBTIQ people traveling to the emirate during the World Cup.
ara/sid