Controversy surrounding mass migration has once again come to the fore in Germany after ethnic Turks booed the national football team during Germany’s game against Turkey on November 18.
Commentators said the German team was effectively forced to play what felt like a hostile away game. The number of Turkish fans vastly outnumbered German supporters despite the fixture taking place in Berlin.
The Turkish fans are also said to have acted disrespectfully towards their German hosts during the game.
Video footage of some fans shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“Allah is greater”) has also gone viral online, while others were seen giving the salute of Turkey’s Grey Wolves nationalist paramilitary group.
Speaking after the game, German politicians expressed anger and frustration at the actions of the Turkish fans, many of whom are thought to hold German citizenship.
“It must hurt all of us when people born or raised in Germany boo the German national team during an international match in Germany,” said Bijan Djir-Sarai, a federal MP for North Rhine-Westphalia.
“This shows once again the failures and deficits in integration policy. Why do these people live in Germany if their love continues to be for Turkey and its president?”
Hans-Joachim Watzke, the managing director of Bundesliga team Borussia Dortmund, also slammed the hatred shown by some fans for Germany’s captain İlkay Gündoğan.
Being of Turkish origin himself, Gündoğan spoke before the game about how “special” the event would be for him, discussing how his parents were originally from Turkey’s İzmir province and that he still had family there.
The player was repeatedly booed by Turkish fans throughout the game.
“I think that’s absolutely not okay and I don’t have any understanding for it because it’s simply intolerant,” Watzke said.
The controversy has once again raised questions over Germany’s mass-migration policy. Many politicians on the centre-right now express concern that the country can no longer properly integrate newcomers.
Authorities have also grown increasingly concerned regarding migrant-related political violence in the country. Some officials are predicting that Berlin will see more riots this coming New Year’s Eve.
Riots in the capital made the front pages of media internationally on January 1, 2023. First and second-generation migrants were alleged to have attacked police and emergency workers during outbreaks of street violence.