10\/14\/2025<\/p>\n
Justus Wilhoit<\/p>\n
\u00a0BERLIN –\u00a0 \u201cArd fussball rechts\u201d, \u201cBabelsburg 03\u201d, \u201cNeonazis in stadion,\u201d and \u201cBerlin dynamo – BFC.\u201d These are not just random phrases you\u2019d hear from an everyday football fan in Germany. They\u2019re the names of various football clubs around Berlin, and perhaps more interestingly, the names of Youtube videos recommended to me by Nabil Rayk, a server who became our cross-cultural host. He explained how neo-Nazism and far-right rhetoric have seeped into a sport so deeply loved across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n During our nearly four-hour dinner at Ebn Tamshah, a small, lively Palestinian restaurant named after Nabil\u2019s great-grandmother, each student took turns sharing their ideas for our final reporting project. As we did, our special guests, journalists Joshua Yaffa and Barbara Demick, offered thoughts on how each story could take shape.<\/span><\/p>\n When I presented my idea about far-right rhetoric in German soccer, Yaffa and Demick shared their opinions, but so did Nabil. Between serving plates of hummus and sweet potatoes, he urged me to pay attention to the symbolism behind club colors and recalled his own childhood playing football in Berlin when he was 10 years old. It was often the parents, he said, not the players, who fueled hostility. They would tell their kids to \u201ckick that Arab, kick that N-word,\u201d he recalled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After dinner, I stayed behind to keep talking with Nabil, eager to learn more about Germany\u2019s soccer culture. When I asked why he thought parents so often perpetuate conflict, he didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cSport is a replacement for war,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Nabil isn\u2019t surprised that racism and xenophobia have found a foothold in soccer through the rhetoric of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. \u201cThis sh** was there before,\u201d he said. He told me he sees the party\u2019s influence most clearly at smaller, amateur clubs, where public scrutiny is minimal. \u201c\u2018We can\u2019t kick them out of the country, it\u2019s too complicated, but we can f*** them today,\u2019\u201d he said, mimicking what he\u2019s heard shouted on the sidelines.<\/span><\/p>\n He also noticed how players of color are treated differently depending on their performance. \u201cWhen a Black player does well, it\u2019s like, <\/span>[clapping]<\/span><\/i> \u2018nice\u2019\u2026 But if he plays bad, it\u2019s <\/span>[imitating monkey noises]<\/span><\/i>, \u2018you ape!\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThey throw bananas and stuff.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n When I asked why sport so often becomes a stage for hate, Nabil claimed that people \u201cneed a reason to get drunk, \u2026 to get this inner demon out.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After years of being targeted for his skin color and Palestinian background, Nabil has developed what he calls an \u201cI never get hit by racism\u201d mindset, and hopes players at larger clubs can do the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Still, he\u2019s aware of the contradictions: those who harbor resentment toward immigrants and people of color also depend on them. \u201cThey need us, they need African players,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 10\/14\/2025 Justus Wilhoit \u00a0BERLIN –\u00a0 \u201cArd fussball rechts\u201d, \u201cBabelsburg 03\u201d, \u201cNeonazis in stadion,\u201d and \u201cBerlin dynamo – BFC.\u201d These are not just random phrases you\u2019d hear from an everyday football fan in Germany. They\u2019re the names of various football clubs around Berlin, and perhaps more interestingly, the names of Youtube videos recommended to me by<\/p>\n