Kimmich Condemns 'Racist' Survey Amid Euro 2024 Preparations

Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich has criticized a survey revealing that one in five Germans prefer more white players on the national soccer team, branding it 'absolutely racist.' Kimmich emphasized soccer's role in uniting diverse backgrounds and condemned the survey during the team's training camp for the upcoming European Championship.

Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich has strongly criticized a recent survey, branding it as “absolutely racist.” The survey revealed that one in five Germans would prefer more white players on the national team.

The survey, featuring responses from 1,304 randomly selected participants, was commissioned for ARD's documentary “Unity and Justice and Diversity,” set to air on Wednesday. The poll reported that 21% of those surveyed preferred more white-skinned players in the Germany team.

“Anyone who's grown up with soccer knows this is absolute nonsense. Soccer uniquely unites different nations, skin colors, and religions,” said Kimmich on Saturday at a training camp in Herzogenaurach, where the team is preparing for the European Championship. “Such racist attitudes are entirely out of place in our team.”

With the European Championship just around the corner, Kimmich finds the timing of such questions absurd. “We aim to unite the whole country, aiming for great achievements together. As a team, we’re working to get all of Germany behind us,” he stated. Germany has warm-up matches against Ukraine in Nuremberg on Monday and Greece in Mönchengladbach thereafter.

The European Championship kicks off on June 14 in Munich, with Germany facing Scotland. Subsequently, Germany will play Hungary in Stuttgart on June 19 and Switzerland in Frankfurt on June 23.