“Freedom of Expression” .. Germany decides not to punish fans who raised a banner calling for a boycott of the World Cup in Qatar

The German Football Association announced that it would not punish a number of fans who raised a banner calling for a boycott of the World Cup in Qatar during the German team’s match against its Italian counterpart in the European Nations League competitions.
According to Deutsche Welle, the union and the police confirmed that there had been no criminal act related to raising the banner.

Dem ist nichts hinzuzufügen 👇#GERITA #BoycottQatar2022 #Moenchengladbach pic.twitter.com/5NF7trgZf4

— Fanhilfe Mönchengladbach (@FanhilfeMg) June 14, 2022

The German Federation clarified that what some fans did was part of the exercise of freedom of expression, despite their arrest and questioning by the police after the incident.
About 15 people raised a banner reading “15,000 dead for a major tournament .. FIFA and its partners have no conscience” shortly after the start of the match, which was held last Tuesday.

The banner was displayed during the match for about 3 minutes.
And Oliver Schmidt, commentator of the match on the German channel “ZDF”, said: “This is a clear and sincere message, and it is good to have a place for it here.”
The 15 fans left the stadium immediately after that and could not watch the match that ended with Germany winning (5-2), but the police arrested them at the request of the German Football Association.
After questioning them, the German police confirmed that “raising the banner does not involve any criminal act, as it falls under the framework of freedom of expression,” noting that no other measures were taken against them.