December 09, 2005
A German soccer team has publicly apologized on behalf of their fans who had unfurled an anti-Semitic banner at a match on Monday. The banner featured the word "Juden" (Jews), with the letter D emphasized as a slur against the Dynamo Dresden team. The image was broadcast live on German television. Germany's soccer scene is under increasing scrutiny as the country prepares to host the World Cup next summer. In an open letter to the Dresden team, Michael Voigt and Sven Fischer, spokesmen for the FC Energie Cottbus team, wrote, "This 'Juden'-banner, and the point of view connected with it represents neither the mindset nor the behavior of the entire Cottbus fan scene, and we strongly condemn it. Such incidents should not occur in a football stadium." A German group, the Foundation for Active Soccer Fans, noted in a press release on Tuesday that it was routine for some German soccer fans and players to call the opposition Jews, but this time it happened to occur during a live broadcast.
