This week's howler: Claiming a Real Madrid star is a terrorist

A Real Madrid star has resorted to taking legal action after being defamed recently, but this could all have been avoided with some understanding, writes Junaid Benjamin. 

What's the story?

The German Football Association (DFB) has backed star defender Antonio Rudiger, who was alleged to have been affiliated to a terrorist organisation by former BILD editor Julian Reichelt after the player posed for a photo while showing an "Islamist" symbol. 

The picture in question shows the defender sitting in Islamic attire and pointing his index finger upwards, and the caption of the social media post reads: "Ramadan Mubarak to all Muslims around the world. May the almighty accept our fasting and prayers."

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Granted, Rudiger did look a bit serious in the photo; it wouldn't have hurt him to crack a smile. He is, after all, wishing his Muslim followers well for the month of Ramadan. Maybe it was that absent smile that sparked Reichelt's initial outburst. After finding out that the DFB and the player reported him, he once again took to social media to argue his point. 

"Anyone who shows this greeting as an adult and has liked posts by Islamists at least once in the past knows this very well. The German Office for the Protection of the Constitution and its state offices see the raised finger as a sign of Islamist radicalisation. The Interior Minister calls the gesture 'unacceptable'. Anyone who poses like this in public is consciously showing the greeting of fanatics and not an innocent, spiritual gesture," Reichelt wrote on X. 

Read his full argument here:

It is quite absurd, though, that he chose to use one gesture, which is probably the most common gesture in the entire world, as the basis for his argument after defaming one of the world's best defenders. The thing is, every football fan can probably recall one of their favourite players pointing their index finger up in the sky after scoring a goal. Does that make them terrorists too? These players are also from various religious and cultural backgrounds so it is rather inappropriate to make an assumption about someone's entire religious and political ideologies based on which finger he's holding up in a photo on Instagram. 

Defamation is a serious issue, especially for a footballer because, whether we like it or not, their entire careers are based on the way they are perceived by people around the world, and with football clubs essentially becoming powerful brands over the past few years, allegations as great as this could have a drastic effect on his future as a footballer.

Not to mention his current situation at Real Madrid. The nature of relationships in general is so delicate and it forces you to ask yourself if it could change the perception of his current teammates towards him after reading Reichelt's argument. If that "what if?" starts creeping into their mind, would it affect the relationship between one another as teammates? That could potentially lead to a disastrous atmosphere in the changing room, and in football, we know where that leads to...

Additionally, it is the frustration that comes with legal proceedings that become necessary of the player's desire to protect his name and reputation, and understandably so. The last thing Rudiger may want is for allegations like these to follow him around if he does decide to look for a new club in the future. If it goes unchecked, it may deter clubs – because of their statuses as brands – from signing him. Sometimes things need to be dealt with in a better, more subtle way to appease the interest of both parties, and this was one of those situations. 

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