Fussball-WM Blog

An important article of the "Jewish Times":

( . . . ) Germany sees the games, which conclude July 9, as a chance to prove to 3 million visitors that it can host a major event without incident. But in order to do so it must tame the racism that is a part of soccer culture and plagues contemporary German society, even though it is rejected by the mainstream. In the run-up to the games, the German news media has been full of talk about anti-Semitism and xenophobia among some soccer fans; dire warnings to visitors to avoid "foreigner-free" zones in former East Germany; and arguments over whether Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should be allowed to attend the games and be arrested on charges of Holocaust denial — a crime in Germany –  if he shows up. Neo-Nazis plan to show their solidarity with Ahmadinejad by welcoming the Iranian team when it plays in Leipzig on June 21. ( . . . ) Martin Endemann of Football Against Racism in Europe agrees. "The clubs and the soccer associations have to acknowledge the problem, because most of the time they are saying it is not as bad as it was before," he said. ( . . . ) What will happen after everyone goes home? Racism and xenophobia at the tournament is not the sole issue, Endemann says: "The problem is that people go out on the street and beat up Jewish people and blacks and Asians," he said. ( . . . )

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