Nancy Faeser condemns racist insults on German’s U21 players

 

BERLIN – German Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser said the racist insults against Germany under-21 players Youssoufa Moukoko and Jessic Ngankam is “inhuman and disgusting.”

German Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser said the racist insults against Germany under-21 players Youssoufa Moukoko and Jessic Ngankam is “inhuman and disgusting.”

“Our players show the best side of our modern and diverse Germany, these racist comments show the ugliest side,” Faeser, who’s also responsible for sports, told dpa on Friday.

Moukoko and Ngankam were racially abused on social media following the team’s European Under-21 Championship opener on Thursday. Both players missed penalties in the 1-1 draw against Israel, leading to a barrage of online racist abuse directed at the two.

“If we win, we are all Germans. When we lose, these monkey comments come. Jessic got them, I got them. Things like that just don’t belong in football,” the 18-year-old Moukoko said after the game.

“We don’t miss on purpose; we try to help the team. When you get news like that, it’s disgusting,” Moukoko, who was born in Cameroon, said.
“This time it hurt. No player misses a penalty on purpose.”

Moukoko said he was confronted with such comments repeatedly.
Germany coach Antonio Di Salvo also condemned the attacks. While it was not possible to control everything on the internet, there “definitely has to be a punishment. This is absurd,” he said.
The coach defended his players. “These are guys who love playing for Germany, who are German, who give everything for the country,” Di Salvo said.