According to the Information Center on Anti-Kurdish Racism (IAKR) and the Central Human Rights Council of Kurds in Germany (ZMRK), DFB national player Deniz Undav has been the target of racist and ethnically motivated attacks for months after his public identification as a Yazidi Kurd. After Undav’s club VfB Stuttgart’s Europa League match on Thursday evening against Turkish runners-up Fenerbahce (0-1) in Istanbul, the hate campaign against the striker, who was born in Varel in East Frisia and grew up in Achim near Bremen, has intensified once again.
During the match in Istanbul, there was a brief altercation between Undav and Turkish player Ismail Yüksek. This was followed by a barrage of insults and threats against Undav in the stands and on social media. In comments, he was defamed as a “terrorist” and “traitor,” among other things—often in connection with anti-Kurdish and anti-Yazidi stereotypes.
Example of deeply rooted anti-Kurdish racism
The two organizations see this as an example of deeply rooted anti-Kurdish racism, which is evident not only in Turkish society but also in soccer. Kurdish clubs and players are repeatedly the target of nationalist and right-wing extremist hate speech. The Amedspor club in particular has been repeatedly subjected to racist and nationalist violence—both verbal and physical—in the past.
“Sport is not seen here as a space for participation and diversity, but as a stage for ethno-nationalist exclusion and contempt for humanity,” the joint statement said. In Germany, too, the organizations warn of a growing presence of Turkish right-wing extremist groups, especially the so-called “Grey Wolves,” in the world of soccer. Right-wing extremist symbolism and the so-called “wolf salute” are openly displayed at games and tournaments without clubs or associations taking consistent action.
Demands on politicians and associations
“These ideologies aim to propagate ethnic homogeneity and marginalize ethnic and religious groups such as Kurds, Pontic Greeks, Armenians, Yazidis, and Alevis, stylizing them as enemies,” emphasized the IAKR and the ZMRK. They called on sports institutions, politicians, and civil society to take decisive action. Clubs and associations must take a clear and public stand against racism, they said, calling on digital platforms to consistently punish hate speech, as the trivialization of right-wing violence often begins in comment sections.
The IAKR and the ZMRK also called for anti-Kurdish racism to be identified as a structural and transnational problem: “What happens in the stadium begins in everyday life. Soccer should not be a place for racist demonstrations of power. Anyone who turns the playing field into a stage for hatred has no place there.Solidarity must be demonstrated through concrete protective measures and structural changes.”