In view of the current wars and crises, Presidium member Oke Göttlich has emphasized his call for the DFB to position itself before the World Cup.
“I would never ask players what they should or shouldn’t do. But as a club we have an opinion and an attitude. And that’s what I would also like from an association like the DFB,” said the president of FC St. Pauli on “NDR 90.3”.
Göttlich made it clear that he was not advocating a boycott of the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada (June 11 to July 19), but rather wanted to provide food for thought.
“When you go to a country that is at war, where people are being shot on the street, then you at least have to think about: What is our association line when we go there? That’s something I wanted to initiate,” said Göttlich, referring to the USA.
He was concerned with the question: “What is sport? Sport stands for integration, for fun, for diversity. And for the fact that we stand up for human rights. I don’t see that at the moment.”
The DFB vice-president calls for the association to prepare for possible discussions. “Are we going there? How are we going there? If we are going there: What is the statement? That is something we have to prepare for,” emphasized Göttlich, who forced the debate at the end of January. The DFB spoke out against a boycott, and President Bernd Neuendorf criticized Göttlich for his move (“The colleague hasn’t been there that long”).
Divine was amazed at the reactions to his statements. “I thought: This is the largest sports association in the world, they must have thought about communication,” said the 50-year-old, who took the liberty of taking a dig at the DFB president: “I think Mr. Neuendorf has been in office for a shorter period of time than I have in an official position in German football.”
