Football European Football Championship 2024
After dispute over “One Love” slogan – This is the armband the German captain is wearing this time
Status: 2:11 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
New captain, new armband: Ilkay Gündogan
Quelle: picture alliance/M.i.S./Bernd Feil
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At the World Cup in Qatar, there was a huge debate about the German team’s captain’s armband. This distracted from the main issue. Those responsible want to avoid such a scenario at the European Championships in their own country.
This topic still symbolizes the failure of the German national football team at the World Cup in Qatar. Even if it had nothing to do with what ultimately happened on the pitch, it overshadowed everything, especially at the beginning of the controversial tournament: the debate about wearing the “One Love” armband.
Immediately after the start of the World Cup, the world governing body FIFA banned some European nations from wearing the captain’s armband they had designed. This was supposed to stand for diversity and against discrimination. The ban caused unrest in the German camp – and led to countless discussions. In particular around the first group match against Japan, which was lost 1:2. The German team covered their mouths before the match in protest against the FIFA decision, expressing doubts about freedom of expression. Up in the stands, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser wore the armband banned by FIFA.
Now the next tournament is coming up: the European Championship in our own country. And the question arises: which armband will the German captain wear this time?
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Ilkay Gündogan, who was appointed new captain by former national coach Hansi Flick shortly before his dismissal last September, had recently worn a black, red and gold armband. This is also planned for the upcoming test matches against Ukraine on June 3 (8.45 p.m., ARD) and four days later against Greece (8.45 p.m., RTL).
Armband with the inscription “Uefa Respect”
As far as the European Championship is concerned, which will open on June 14 with the match between Germany and Scotland, the idea is for all captains to wear an armband with the inscription “Uefa Respect”. The message is intended to cover various topics, such as respect on the pitch for the opponent and the referee – and also to symbolize a clear stance against racism off the pitch. The DFB, it is said, wants to adhere to the guidelines.
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In response to a WELT query, UEFA said: “The same approach will be applied at UEFA EURO 2024 as at the last tournament. The UEFA Respect message will be promoted on the captain’s armbands, which will be distributed in sufficient numbers and in two colours (blue and yellow) to all participating teams (in accordance with Article 60 of the competition regulations). If a participating national association wishes to use a different captain’s armband, an official request can be made to the UEFA administration. This will approve the exception for a specific match or for the entire duration of the tournament.”
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Jan Ullrich and his coach
At the last European Championship in summer 2021, UEFA launched an investigation against the DFB because the then captain Manuel Neuer wore the rainbow armband. He did so because of “Pride Month” in June as a symbol for the LGBTQ+ community. However, UEFA then stopped the investigation during the European Championship.
“Now it’s about football again,” said Völler
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf was recently asked whether the national team would also be sending political messages at the European Championships. He replied: “As far as political issues are concerned, we as an association and as UEFA said what kind of legacy such a tournament has, what remains of such a tournament? The original idea was to anchor the idea of sustainability around such tournaments. We have succeeded in doing this well, small things, but also bigger things.”
Neuendorf referred to a fund set up by the association to finance sustainable projects for amateur clubs: “These are all signals for future tournaments. In that respect, it doesn’t always have to be about big world politics. Political signals have been sent out about the direction in which we as Europeans imagine tournaments can and should develop. This is an important step that everyone can take, we don’t have to approach the team in a big way. We all have a shared responsibility here.”
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But football must remain football, as they now know at the DFB. Back in March 2023, sports director Rudi Völler, who succeeded Oliver Bierhoff after the World Cup debacle in Qatar, told “Sport Bild” regarding the captain’s armband: “I understand that you have to set an example every now and then. But now it’s about football again.”
