Year in review: Borussia take a stand against racism

Borussia reaffirmed the values that the club stands for once again this year – for tolerance, for respect and against racism.

To further promote this message of tolerance, the Foals teamed up with Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04 and 1. FC Köln for an anti-racism video – a joint campaign from four clubs who are rivals, but crucially only on the pitch. The video included Marcus Thuram taking a knee in the 4-1 home win against Union Berlin, demonstrating his support for the protests against police brutality and racism in the United States. Jadon Sancho and Anthony Modeste also appeared in the video following their on-pitch statements, with the Dortmund player revealing a T-shirt with the slogan “Justice for George Floyd”, an African-American man killed by police in Minneapolis.

However, some of the reaction on social media left the club speechless, with several racist, inflammatory and inhuman comments posted in response to the video. Some hope was offered by the vast majority of Borussia fans though, as people countered with reason and facts. “The video is outstanding and absolutely underlines our position on racism and social exclusion. Football has always lived those values; it stands for integration and togetherness,” said sporting director Max Eberl, before taking a clear stance against the xenophobic comments: “Some of the responses to it demonstrates a sickness in our society. We don’t want people like that at our club – they should cancel their membership immediately and go home. I never want to see these people in our stadium.”

Borussia also took a clear stance against an Instagram post from October in which Breel Embolo was subjected to abhorrent racist abuse by an anonymous user. The players, coaches, backroom staff and the whole club stood and continue to stand behind Breel and any other people who are victims of such hate. The team decided to take a physical stance too, with the players, coaches and backroom staff taking a knee together on the BORUSSIA-PARK pitch in a universal gesture against racism.