Players targeted with racist abuse at German soccer game

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Fans in Germany racially abused soccer players and threw objects during a game between Hamburger SV and Fortuna Düsseldorf, both clubs and a player confirmed Sunday.

Hamburg said players from both teams were racially abused when the club drew 1-1 with Fortuna Düsseldorf in the second division on Saturday. The club didn't specify how many players were affected.

Khaled Narey, who is Black and who played for Hamburg before joining Fortuna, said on Instagram on Sunday that some fans “racially abused me during the game and threw beer at me.”

Both clubs condemned the racist abuse and Hamburg said it was investigating.

“HSV stands for diversity. Racism has no place either in the Volksparkstadion, or in our society,” Hamburg said on Twitter. “We stand with the players who were affected and we will do everything possible to investigate the incidents and to implement punishment.”

Fans returned to German soccer stadiums in recent months after a long absence during the pandemic.

“Racism cannot be tolerated at any time and in any place,” Fortuna said. “We hope that HSV manages to clear up these incidents as quickly as possible.”

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports