German football body 'clearly on the side' of the Israel community

German Football Federation (DFB) president Bernd Neuendorf took a clear stance against anti-Semitism at the Julius Hirsch Award ceremony.

“If you know our past, you cannot question the existence of the state of Israel,” Neuendorf told the media on Sunday.

He considers it “a disgrace that certain things are being articulated again here in Germany and that people are not aware of the history for which we are responsible.”

The DFB is “clearly on the side” of the Jewish community, Neuendorf stressed.

Every year, the DFB awards the Julius Hirsch prize to clubs, institutions and individuals who use football to promote democracy, human dignity and combat anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination.

“Every submission (to the award) is a piece of hope for us in difficult times,” Neuendorf said.

“It's about respect, about togetherness, about everything that football should stand for. We know that this is unfortunately not the case everywhere in our society.”