George Floyd protests: German FA will not punish Bundesliga players for anti-racism messages

The German Football Association (DFB) will take no disciplinary action against Bundesliga quartet Jadon Sancho, Achraf Hakimi, Marcus Thuram and Weston McKennie for their individual protests following the death of George Floyd.

In a statement, the DFB said it would maintain this stance in the event of further on-pitch protests "in the next few weeks", paving the way for more activism in the Bundesliga, the only major European football league currently active.

Fifa rules forbid players to display political, religious or personal messages, but the world governing body has urged competition organisers to take a "common sense" approach to the protests and consider the "context" when making decisions.

Floyd, an unarmed black man, died while in police custody in Minneapolis last week, sparking a wave of riots and unrest across the US.

Sancho and Hakimi both revealed t-shirts with "Justice for George" messages during Borussia Dortmund's win at Paderborn; Thuram took a knee after scoring for Borussia Monchengladbach; and Schalke's American midfielder McKennie wore a "Justice for George" armband.

DFB vice-president Rainer Koch, who is responsible for upholding the laws of the game, refused to rule out sanctioning the quartet on Tuesday and afterwards Fifa president Gianni Infantino made clear that the world governing body opposed any action, saying: "For the avoidance of doubt, in a FIFA competition the recent demonstrations of players in Bundesliga matches would deserve an applause and not a punishment."

Sancho, who scored a hat-trick in Dortmund's 6-1 win at Paderborn, was booked after displaying the message, but his yellow card will not be rescinded because it was for removing his shirt, rather than the message itself.

The decision not to punish the quartet was made the DFB control committee, whose chairman Dr. Anton Nachreiner said: "Of course, the DFB control committee always has the requirements of the FIFA football rules and the DFB regulations in mind.

"In the specific case, however, these are targeted anti-racism campaigns by the players, which are committed to values ​​for which the DFB also stands and always stands for.

"Therefore, no proceedings will be initiated, even with comparable anti-racism campaigns, in the next few weeks. "

DFB president Fritz Keller added: "I expressly welcome the far-sighted decision of the DFB control committee and am very happy about it.

"The DFB is firmly against all forms of racism, discrimination and violence and stands for tolerance, openness and diversity - values ​​that also in the DFB Statutes. So the actions of the players have our respect and understanding."

In line with Fifa's advice, the Football Association (FA) has promised to take a "common sense" approach to sanctioning players who protest, while Uefa is also planning to overlook player protests when the Champions League and Europa League resume in August.

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