The German national football team not only took a knee prior to their match against England this week but also donned the shirts of the German women’s team to promote the women’s European Championship.
The German national side wore the women’s team top in an effort to promote the European Championship tournament, which is being held in England this month from June 6th to June 31st, with many of the players on the women’s team welcoming the move.
Merle Frohms, the goalkeeper for the women’s team, stated the gesture was a “really cool thing,” while the women’s team spokeswoman Annette Seitz said the move was a “small greeting from our men’s team to all of us, that we support each other, and that it is a football,” NTV reports.
The move comes around a year after the women’s team had worn the tops of the German men’s team during a match against Chile, prior to the start of last year’s men’s European Championship tournament.
The German men’s team also joined the English men’s team in taking a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement prior to the match which saw the two sides end in a 1-1 draw.
Gareth Southgate, the manager of the English man’s team, said he welcomed the fact that the German players also took a knee prior to the match, stating, “We’re two nations with huge numbers of mixed heritage nationals and I think it’s an important sign for everybody, so we welcome that.”
Just days prior to the match against Germany, England’s players were booed by tens of thousands of Hungarians, most of them under the age of 14, in Budapest prior to a 1-0 victory over the Hungarian side.
Hungary is under a temporary spectator ban from the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) over alleged racist and anti-LGBT comments, features and signs, however, the ban does not extend to those under the age of 14 from schools and football academies.