Joshua Kimmich regrets the political gesture that the German selection made at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The players held their hands over their mouths when taking the team photo, to indicate that FIFA silences players.
FIFA threatened sanctions against captains who wanted to play with the OneLove captain’s armband at the 2022 World Cup. That made the German selection decide to put their hand over their mouth for the team photo prior to the defeat against Japan in their opening match. Kimmich expressed regret ahead of Germany’s Nations League matches.
“As captain we must certainly stand for certain values,” he said at the press conference. “But it’s not our job to express ourselves politically all the time. Look at the Qatar issue. We have not painted a good picture as a team and as a country. We expressed political opinions and that took away the joy of the tournament a bit. It was an excellent World Cup in terms of organization.’
‘Western countries represent views that we believe are universal and should apply everywhere. But we also have enough problems in our country. Maybe we should focus on that first. Experts should deal with politics, not me. I’m not an expert.’
When asked about the 2034 World Cup, which Saudi Arabia is favorite to host, Kimmich is clear. ‘I hope that the players who participate can focus on the tournament. After all, that is what we are called to do.’
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