So there is another way. The video uploaded to YouTube, in which Bayern stars Thomas Müller, Leroy Sané and Leon Goretzka read insults against them that are difficult to bear, contains mostly positive comments.
“Strong spot”, “respect” or “good message” can be read there. But more and more frequently, the football professionals are confronted with a completely different language and pace when they read the comment column on their social media channels. After the most recent racist attacks on the Internet against Benjamin Henrichs from Leipzig and Dayot Upamecano from Munich, the players’ union VDV is sounding the alarm.
“Cyberbullying has been a very serious issue for many years – not only in sport,” said VDV Managing Director Ulf Baranowsky of the German Press Agency. He calls for tougher action by the state: “First and foremost, legislators and law enforcement agencies are required to bring about improvements and better protect victims.”
Henrich’s club trainer Marco Rose had previously made a similar statement. The culprits should be “locked up for a few days”, “then one or the other might be encouraged to behave like a normal, social person,” said the RB coach.
Goalkeeper Andreas Luthe from 1. FC Kaiserslautern initially refrained from filing a criminal complaint after receiving “disgusting news” after the away game in Hanover. “Didn’t know that wishing families dead was so fashionable. The trend passed me by…” Luthe wrote with unmistakable sarcasm on Twitter.
“Law against digital violence” should help
The clear-up rate for hate crimes is still low and criminal proceedings in this matter take a long time. The Federal Ministry of Justice wants to counteract this with the new “Act Against Digital Violence”. A central point: There should be a civil claim against platform operators such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for a temporary blocking of inflammatory accounts.
Marion Sulprizio believes that football professionals should also get involved. She works in the psychological institute of the Cologne Sports University and sees the players with their large number of followers as particularly at risk for hatred on the Internet. “Due to the greater accessibility and visibility in the media, it has increased compared to 20 years ago,” Sulprizio told the dpa.
The assumption that football professionals can tolerate insulting and racist comments better due to the daily pressure in the billion-dollar business is a fallacy, said Sulprizio: “The range is just like the average Joe.” There are athletes who make it even stronger, “and then there are those who are busy with it, who then tense up in their actions and are restricted in their body language”.
The players’ union VDV offers professionals and talents prevention training, legal advice and sports psychological support on the subject. Ignore, react publicly or even report criminally? There is no one right way to deal with hostilities online, even for soccer players.
Bayern stars against “hate on the net”
Müller, Sané and Goretzka really wanted to set an example. For the campaign “Gemeinsam gegen Hate im Netz” launched with Bayern sponsor Deutsche Telekom, they read out shocking messages in a video that they had received themselves: “Better shut up your unqualified mouth”. “It used to be Mia San Mia, now only foreigners”. “I spit on you, you freaks”. “May your team bus burn, you losers”. Some words even had to be drowned out with a beep.
Bavaria’s CEO Oliver Kahn supported the campaign. During his playing days, he experienced “what verbal gaffes and aggression can do,” said the previously polarizing goalkeeper.
Fan researcher Gunter A. Pilz believes that online hatred is also a catalyst for the atmosphere in the stadium. “The brutalization of the language in social media also affects the behavior and quality of the insults in the stadium,” said the 78-year-old from the Funke media group.
Experts agree that football is a reflection of society here too. SC Freiburg coach Christian Streich, who likes to think outside the box, agrees. “The pressure is immense, but the pressure in society is also immense,” said Streich. There are phenomena “that are catastrophic”. Hate on the Internet is certainly part of it.
