The German third division team Chemnitzer FC have parted ways with their captain after accusing the player of “openly displaying” his sympathy for neo-Nazi groups among the club’s supporters.
Star striker Daniel Frahn, who missed Saturday’s away game against Hallescher FC due to an injury, had chosen to watch his side’s 3-1 defeat from the guest block rather than the team bench, seated next to leading figures from the far-right hooligan scene.
Former RB Leipzig player Frahn, 32, was already fined by the club in March this year after joining in on a tribute to a deceased far-right activist and known hooligan by holding up a black T-shirt bearing the slogan “Support your local hools”.
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At the time, the player had apologised, saying he had acted “in solidarity with the relatives” of Thomas Haller, a co-founder of far-right group HooNaRa (“Hooligans, Nazis, Racists”), knowing that the T-shirts had been sold to help pay for his medical care. “I didn’t know that that T-shirt was so widespread in the Nazi scene,” he said.
In a statement released on Monday, the club described Frahn’s show of remorse as a “farce” and said it had been wrong to trust his words following the incident earlier in the year.
“He could not and would not live up to the responsibility of the player and team captain of a football club, which involves more than scoring goals and letting yourself be cheered by the crowd: namely, attitude,” said Romy Polster, deputy chair of Chemnitzer FC’s shareholder meeting.
The divisions at the scandal-hit third division club, who are second from bottom of the league after three games and face bankruptcy due to crippling debts, have become symptomatic of Chemnitz’s wider problem with far-right movements.
Last August, the city in the formerly socialist east German state of Saxony saw two days of far-right violence that left several people injured. In the wake of the riots, Chemnitzer FC said on Monday the club saw itself “duty-bound to be a bulwark against rightwing extremism”.
littlesebastian2 on August 5th, 2019 at 22:59 UTC »
A few months ago, those supporters groups used a game to publicly mourn the death of a well known local neo-nazi, and Frahn joined in when he celebrated a goal by holding up a shirt that said “support your local hools”.
At the time he pleaded ignorance and apologised for his actions.
The statement from CFC today says: “It was a mistake to trust his claims of innocence. His regret was a farce. Daniel Frahn: there is no place for you at Chemnitzer FC”.
Good riddance.
NewNameNewHistory on August 5th, 2019 at 20:14 UTC »
I've always wondered if Messi came out as an avowed Neo-nazi, what would be the highest level club that would take him on?
You'd expect Barca to sell because of the terrible press and atmosphere it would create, but at what level would it be worth it because he's so good? League 1 he'd maybe get 100 goals, would a club take him on?
robertoolct on August 5th, 2019 at 18:45 UTC »
Well done, no player is bigger than the team and the supporters.