Doha, Qatar: Last week was tumultuous for the German National Football team where they lost against a 24th seeded Japan team who made a surprising comeback down under. After leading 1-0, Germany eventually lost 2-1 to a dominant Japanese attack that was ruthless in the German half of the pitch.
The ill fate did not end there as the German National Football team was handed down a fine by FIFA in a disciplinary case.
FIFA stated that it had filed a complaint against the German soccer association for failing to send players to the required pre-game press conferences.
Prior to the team’s match against Spain, coach Hansi Flick arrived by himself to speak with the media in Doha on Saturday. Before such a crucial game, which Germany drew 1-1, he claimed he didn’t want to put any additional strain on the players.
Although a specific time and date hasn’t been decided upon the hearing, but it is likely that the German Football Federation will attract a small fine from FIFA.
The German federation has criticised FIFA for refusing to allow several European teams to embrace the “One Love” anti-discrimination campaign in Qatar by donning a captain’s armband. It was intended to spotlight to the host country’s human rights record.
Before last Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Japan, the German players queued up for a team portrait with their right hands over their mouths, seemingly in a gesture to mark their protest.
