Austrian Soccer Players Excluded from National Team After Homophobic Chanting Incident
In the aftermath of a match, three players from Rapid Vienna faced exclusion from the national team for engaging in post-match celebrations that involved chanting homophobic remarks along with some spectators. The video footage of the incident led to their omission from national team duties.
Three Rapid Vienna soccer players, Guido Burgstaller, Marco Grüll, and Niklas Hedl, were not chosen to play for the national team. This decision came after a video surfaced showing them participating in post-match celebrations where they were heard shouting homophobic chants with some fans. The incident occurred after their team's victory against Austria Vienna on February 25.
Austria’s men’s national team manager Ralf Rangnick decided to exclude three players from the upcoming matches against Slovakia and Turkey. This decision came after Rangnick and his coaching staff reviewed videos of an incident involving the players.
Rangnick revealed on Tuesday that the trio had apologized to him. However, he emphasized the importance of the players reflecting on their actions and understanding the impact of public insults and discrimination. Rangnick made it clear that such behavior would not be tolerated within his team.
The former interim manager of Manchester United emphasized that the decision was not final, but the players needed to show they had grown from their mistakes.
Rangnick stressed that simply apologizing because they understood the consequences was not enough. He believed that actions spoke louder than words.
Austria manager Ralf Rangnick has not selected the three players from the most recent national team squad.
Austria manager Ralf Rangnick has not selected the three players from the most recent national team squad.
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Burgstaller, Rapid Vienna’s club captain, issued an apology online for the “absolute misconduct.”
We take full responsibility for the incident and sincerely regret our actions. We want to make it clear that we do not support discrimination or homophobia. We will address this issue internally within the club and the team, and we are committed to taking appropriate action moving forward.
Grüll has also released a statement acknowledging that there may be consequences for the incident and offering a heartfelt apology.
Grüll stated that he, along with his fellow players, firmly opposes any form of exclusion, emphasizing that homophobia should not be tolerated in society.
The club issued a statement the day following the victory in the match, expressing regret for inappropriate and offensive remarks that were made, and seeking forgiveness on behalf of SK Rapid as a whole.
The Austrian Football League has taken action by suspending several players from the team, including Burgstaller, Grüll, Hedl, Thorsten Schick, and Maximilian Hofmann. In addition, the club's managing director Steffen Hofmann and assistant coach Stefan Kulovits have also faced disciplinary measures from the league.
Editor's P/S:
The incident
