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A state lawmaker from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been criticized on Twitter for a homophobic insult and for the national team’s use of LGBT + rainbow colors.
As Germany celebrated their 4-2 victory over Portugal on Saturday night, Uwe Junge, former leader of the AfD parliamentary group in Rhineland-Palatinate, took to Twitter using a homophobic slur.
Junge, a former German army officer, directed his anger at the rainbow captain’s armband that German captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer wore during the match. He described it as an “f ***** armband”, before complaining that Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena would be lit up in the same colors.
“Now all that’s missing is ‘take the knee’, and you’re going to lose more and more fans. You have to be able to afford it,” he wrote, referring to the anti-racist protest at knees adopted by some teams in the competition.
Several senior AfD politicians, including a member of the Bundestag and the leader of the AfD parliamentary group in Berlin, Georg Pazderski, had previously expressed their contempt for Neuer’s rainbow-colored captain’s armband.
However, the wording used by Junge was deemed to have marked a low point, according to the Bild tabloid. He then apologized for using the homophobic insult and said he deleted the tweet.
Comments quickly criticized
Social Democratic politician Karl Lauterbach said the tweet that was deleted on Sunday morning highlighted AfD intolerance.
“Such comments show how terribly intolerant Germany would be if the AfD were ever to be in government,” Lauterbach said.
Meanwhile, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, herself a lesbian, also criticized the tweet as “not the AfD”.
Weidel joked that Junge, whose tenure as state House leader ended several months ago, would soon find himself watching the party from the outside.
Junge is a well-known figure in the AfD, especially in Rhineland-Palatinate where he was a legislator
Well-known party figure
Far from being a stranger to the party, Junge has appeared on national television talk shows and held several leadership positions within the party.
His tweet appeared to be triggered by the announcement that the Allianz Arena would be lit up in rainbow colors for Germany’s match against Hungary on Wednesday in solidarity with the Hungarian LGBT + community.
According to a new law passed by the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, companies are no longer allowed to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in advertising or to make them appear as normal.
The law also prohibits the teaching of LGBT + content to minors.
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