German football coach ‘full of anger’ after fans shout ‘Sieg Heil’
National team's manager Joachim Low said supporters shouting Nazi-era chants 'bring shame on our country'
The coach and players on Germany’s national football team condemned fans who traveled to the World Cup qualifier for shouting Nazi-era chants.
Fans chanted “Sieg Heil” on Friday during a World Cup qualifier on Friday in Prague. The German team beat the Czech Republic 2-1. The fans also whistled and chanted during a moment of silence for two Czech officials who died.
“I’m full of anger and I’m very much shaken to see that some so-called fans use football, and an international match, for their deplorable demonstrations,” German team manager Joachim Low said during a news conference. “They bring shame on our country,”
Low said he hoped the raucous fans would be sanctioned. “We don’t want them, we’re not their national team, and they’re not our fans. Given our history, it’s very important for us to represent our country in a dignified fashion and its values of tolerance, respect and openness to the world. These troublemakers demean this image,” Low said.
The national team responded to the chants by refusing to applaud the visiting fans after the match as is customary, the AFP news agency reported.
The chants came on the anniversary of the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939, which started World War II.
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