Racist incidents occur roughly four times a month in German football, according to Alon Meyer, the president of Makkabi, the Jewish sports association in Germany.
“Dirty Jew” and comments like “You should be gassed” make clear that antisemitism is deeply entrenched in Germany’s footballing milieu right up to the present day – and a source of deep embarrassment to the footballing authorities.
Makkabi comprises 40 local clubs of different sporting codes and has around 4,500 members.
Only around half of its playing members are actually Jewish.
“We’re multicultural,” said Meyer. But this is of little concern to football fans from the political right wing. For them “Jew” is an insult that is heard at games other than those involving Makkabi.
“Racism has been strongly suppressed in the Bundesliga stadia,” said Florian Schubert, a political scientist and sports scientist who is member of a major German fans association.
But he has also observed that the fans of certain clubs still exhibit this behaviour, often while making their way to and from the grounds.
Every football supporter knows the “Subway Song” in which fans threaten the opposing team with a subway train journey to Auschwitz.
“Over recent years this has tended to increase, with this song being sung in trains carrying fans to away games,” Schubert said.
Right-wing fans have been observed at other clubs, including Aachen on the Dutch border and 1860 Munich – both in regional leagues – at clubs in the second division and at Borussia Dortmund, currently Bundesliga leaders.
There are also voluntary associations of fans striving to combat racism. In Cottbus and Aachen they have had to dissolve their groups, at least temporarily, after being threatened by extremist hooligans.
An expert report to the Federal Interior Ministry in 2016 found that antisemitic prejudice was expressed more directly and in more extreme form in football than in other social environments.
Makkabi’s Meyer calls for “greater sensitivity.” Coaches and officials are under obligation to talk to their players about this, making clear that unsporting behaviour will not be tolerated, he says.
Sanctions on players should be imposed without delay and should include penalties for racist insults.
Schubert claims certain clubs turn a blind eye. “There are still clubs who look away when there is evidence of anti-Semitism or other discriminatory incidents and do not want to believe it,” he said.
“If they would face up to the problem, a start could be made to doing something about it.”
