Growing calls for anti-racism protests as Bayern scent title

Bayern Munich face one of the final obstacles in their hunt for an eighth consecutive Bundesliga title this weekend as players in Germany contemplate staging collective protests following the death of George Floyd in the US.

The German FA said on Wednesday footballers including Jadon Sancho who paid tributes to Floyd during last week’s games would not be punished, with calls since growing from several Bayern players for further action.

“Sport always was and is able to share the power, to try to show to the world we are a community and that we are strong together,” said Bayern forward Thomas Mueller, ahead of Saturday’s game with Bayer Leverkusen.

“We have so many different people in the sport, it doesn’t matter the colour. Sports have the power to bring people together to speak with one tongue.”

Joshua Kimmich revealed Bayern players have talked about using their platform to reinforce their stance against racism, while World Cup winner Jerome Boateng urged more famous white sportspeople to add their voices to the chorus of outrage over Floyd’s death.

Floyd, a black American man, died after a white policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes. His death has sparked several days of protests in US cities, some of which have turned violent amid accusations of further police brutality used against demonstrators.

‘We can do much more’

“Our voices carry, we have a platform and we touch many people,” Boateng, whose father is from Ghana, told Deutsche Welle radio.

“All white sportspeople who don’t speak out are obviously not racists, but of course it is desirable that they also use their notoriety for this cause. Many do it, but I think we can do much more.”

With five games remaining Bayern hold a seven-point lead over Borussia Dortmund, whose players took a knee during Thursday’s training session in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Dortmund coach Lucien Favre said he “stood 100 per cent behind” Sancho’s call for justice although a number of players including the England winger courted controversy after they were pictured without masks alongside a hairdresser.

Bayern can open up a ten-point gap on Dortmund with a win at Leverkusen.

At the other end of the table, Werder Bremen have slipped back deep into relegation trouble after a 3-0 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday greatly complicated the task of maintaining their top-flight status.

The loss was all the more disappointing for the four-time champions after a 1-0 win at Freiburg on May 23 had given them hope. Werder are now three points from safety and need a positive result at home against Wolfsburg on Sunday.

“That was a setback but definitely not a knockout,” Werder coach Florian Kohfeldt said after the Eintracht defeat. “It has become harder but it’s not impossible. We all knew that it would be hard, but we’re going to give it a go.”

The Moenchengladbach striker Marcus Thuram has scored four times in as many games since the Bundesliga resumed last month to reach double digits in his debut season in Germany.

Agence France-Presse



German League Fixtures (all times GMT)

Saturday: RB Leipzig vs Paderborn, Bayer leverkusen vs Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt vs Mainz, Fortuna Dusseldorf vs Hoffenheim (all 1330), Borussia Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin (1630)

Sunday:  Werder Bremen vs Wolfsburg (1130), Union Berlin vs Schalke (1330), Augsburg vs Cologne (1600)