The German Football Association (DFB) will take no disciplinary action against Bundesliga quartet Jadon Sancho, Achraf Hakimi, Marcus Thuram and Weston McKennie for their individual protests following the death of George Floyd.
In a statement, the DFB said it would maintain this stance in the event of further on-pitch protests “in the next few weeks”, paving the way for more activism in the Bundesliga, the only major European football league currently active.
Fifa rules forbid players to display political, religious or personal messages, but the world governing body has urged competition organisers to take a “common sense” approach to the protests and consider the “context” when making decisions.
Floyd, an unarmed black man, died while in police custody in Minneapolis last week, sparking a wave of riots and unrest across the US.
Sancho and Hakimi both revealed t-shirts with “Justice for George” messages during Borussia Dortmund’s win at Paderborn; Thuram took a knee after scoring for Borussia Monchengladbach; and Schalke’s American midfielder McKennie wore a “Justice for George” armband.
DFB vice-president Rainer Koch, who is responsible for upholding the laws of the game, refused to rule out sanctioning the quartet on Tuesday and afterwards Fifa president Gianni Infantino made clear that the world governing body opposed any action, saying: “For the avoidance of doubt, in a FIFA competition the recent demonstrations of players in Bundesliga matches would deserve an applause and not a punishment.” Continue reading