German soccer player Kevin Behrens has been disciplined byfor refusing to sign a fan’s rainbow jersey and reportedly saying “I won’t sign that kind of gay shit”.
Context
Behrens is a striker who has made one appearance for the German national team. The 33-year-old has played with Wolfsburg intop-tier domestic competition, the Bundesliga, since January. He refused to sign the jersey and made the comment during an autograph signing session last month. Wolfsburg have been wearing jerseys with rainbow motifs for over five years to “show their support for diversity”.
The German soccer player was called into an internal meeting with the club and has since publicly apologised. He is off-contract at the end of the season so his future with the club is uncertain.
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What they said
The club said in a statement: “VfL Wolfsburg stresses that it is aware of its social responsibility. The club and its employees stand for diversity and tolerance, and fundamental values such as respect, honesty and openness have always been firmly anchored in the club’s philosophy.”
Behrens said: “My spontaneous comments were absolutely not okay. I would like to apologise for that. The issue was clearly discussed internally and I ask for your understanding that I do not wish to comment further on it.”
