Uli Hoeneß: “Gianni Infantino is a major disaster for world football”

“They didn’t have the courage to stand up to FIFA. That would have been urgently needed, because for me Gianni Infantino is a major disaster for world football,” said FC Bayern’s honorary president on RTL. It was “a wonderful opportunity to show him: up to here and no further,” said Hoeneß. Unfortunately, the DFB missed this.

FIFA had banned the “One Love” captain’s armband from national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and six other European team captains at the World Cup in Qatar. Instead, Neuer wore the “No Discrimination” bandage specified by FIFA against Japan, which is intended to stand against discrimination of any kind. The world association had threatened sporting sanctions in the event that the multicolored “One Love” captain’s armband was worn at the World Cup games.

Leaning too far out the window

Hoeneß would have liked more determination from the DFB leadership. “She leaned too far out of the window with the announcement that she would be consistent, that she would consistently follow through on the topic. And in the end they didn’t do that,” Hoeneß complained. In the team photo before the 2-1 draw against Japan on Wednesday, the DFB professionals held their hands over their mouths in response to the ban on the “One Love” captain’s armband.

Meanwhile, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said on Thursday that she spoke to FIFA boss Infantino again during the German World Cup match on Wednesday about the “One Love” armband she wore in the stadium itself. “Then he asked me about the bandage, whether it’s the bandage, then I said to him: ‘And it’s not as bad as you think, is it?’ I see FIFA’s decision as a big mistake”.

It is unbelievable what kind of pressure has been put on the football associations of the seven European countries so that this symbol of diversity is not worn on the pitch. DFB Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke also criticized the world association. “The way FIFA is doing at the moment, it’s a complete catastrophe. With what FIFA has done now, the issue has come even more onto the agenda. I don’t think they’ve done themselves any favors by doing so,” he said Watzke.

fashion attention

In addition to this gesture, the DFB team also received international attention for fashionable details. The “Los Angeles Times” and the English newspaper “The Guardian” also reported on the rainbow colors on the footballers’ warm-up jackets and on some shoes. “If FIFA President Gianni Infantino thought the matter was over, he was taught better,” wrote the Los Angeles Times, referring to the ban on the “One Love” captain’s armband. “Germany’s gestures were just part of a rapidly escalating campaign against Infantino’s decree.”

“The Guardian” praised the DFB’s “clear words” statement on Twitter and emphasized that Neuer, Ikay Gündogan and the other four professionals playing in Adidas shoes wore rainbow colors on their feet. The Japanese Takefusa Kubo wore the same shoe model.