German football team FC Chemnitzer said it has sacked captain Daniel Frahn for displaying sympathy toward neo-Nazis during a league match.
Frahn, who joined the third-tier side in 2016, was unable to play Saturday’s game against Hallescher due to injury but chose instead to watch the match from the stands.
He was seated with a group of far-right fans and, according to the club, was clearly seen to display sympathy for the supporters – a move that “caused great damage to the club.”
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Striker and captain Frahn, who previously played for top-tier side RB Leipzig, had earlier this year been fined for paying tribute to far-right activist and renowned club hooligan, the late Tommy Haller. After scoring a goal, he celebrated by holding up a black T-shirt that read “support your local hools [hooligans]”.
Romy Polster, deputy chairman of the club’s shareholders’ meeting, said that “it was the wrong decision to continue to trust” its player after the incident in March, and that the regret he showed for his actions back then was “a farce.”
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Polster added that the player “could not and did not want to take responsibility as a player and team captain of the football club. There’s one thing more important than just scoring goals and cheering: attitude.”
Chemnitzer, which earned promotion to the third tier of German football last season, is currently one place off the bottom of the table after four games and is also battling crippling debts.
The eastern city of Chemnitz is a renowned site of far-right violence.
After a surge of white supremacist activity last year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Chemnitz, denouncing those who “spread hatred and incitement.”
