In the face of Islamophobic remarks by one of its supporters on Tuesday, German football side Koln gave the fan his walking papers.
THE CLUB GAVE NO QUARTER TO ANTI-MUSLIM FAN
As posted by the club on Twitter, the unidentified fan wrote to the Bundesliga club saying: “Today I have come to the realization that FC will be playing in kits that have a mosque on them. Due to the fact that I can’t identify with Muslims and mosques, I am now making known my exit from the religious organization.”
The club’s logo still features the Cologne Cathedral, but in a silhouette cityscape on the club’s shirt, the shape of a mosque is visible.
Above an image of the fan’s note on Twitter, the club wrote simply: “We received notice from a member who wanted to cancel their membership due to the mosque on our kit. To that, we say: goodbye and thanks for the idea!”
Germany, a country of over 81 million people, has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France.
The country has nearly 4.7 million Muslims — 3 million of Turkish origin — and according to estimates, over 11% of Cologne’s population is Muslim.