Yeovil Town release a statement condemning a photo of a club sticker with an Xenophobic message on it after being spotted at the Euros.
A picture of the sticker went viral on Twitter, with the design featuring the now former crest of Yeovil Town Football Club (YTFC), as well as the slogan ‘Stop the boats’ and the German words “Ausländer Raus”, which translate to “foreigners out” in English.
The National League outfit have now released a statement on it, and their tweet has gone on to get over a million views within 24 hours, hundreds of comments and thousands of likes.
Club Statement | Xenophobic Sticker 📰
Yeovil Town Football Club is aware of a sticker featuring our former logo with the slogan “stop the boats,” which has been spotted in Germany and circulating social media.
⁰We want to make it unequivocally clear that Yeovil Town Football… pic.twitter.com/PN2otaekQQ— Yeovil Town F.(C). (@YTFC) June 24, 2024
Yeovil Town have condemned a ‘Stop the boats’ club sticker spotted at #Euro2024
The picture circulating on social media also bears the far-right slogan ‘ausländer raus’ which translates to ‘foreigners out’ #YTFChttps://t.co/GgP0tlcGs8
— i sport (@iPaperSport) June 25, 2024
Club Statement | Xenophobic Sticker
Yeovil Town Football Club is aware of a sticker featuring our former logo with the slogan “stop the boats,” which has been spotted in Germany and circulating social media.
We want to make it unequivocally clear that Yeovil Town Football Club does not condone or support this message in any form.
Our club stands firmly against any form of discrimination, xenophobia, or divisive rhetoric. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive and welcoming community that respects all individuals, regardless of their background or nationality.
The use of our former logo in this manner is unauthorised, and we are taking steps to address this misuse.
We appreciate the continued support of our fans and community as we work to uphold the values of respect, unity, and diversity.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
There has been a huge crackdown on Channel crossings within the general election campaign debates recently.
The Conservative Party promised to place a legal cap on migration as part of its manifesto, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying that “stopping the boats” is one of his top priorities should he be elected, but previously faced backlash for ;stirring up far-right sentiment; through their strict policies on immigration, reports inews.
This week saw Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader, saying on social media: “We must leave the ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights] to stop the boats and secure our borders.”
Labour, meanwhile, pledged to “crackdown on criminal smuggler gangs facilitating the small boats crossings”.
The controversial sticker isn’t the only political issues we’ve seen out in Germany during Euro 2024.
Prior to it, German national team coach Julian Nagelsmann and player Joshua Kimmich hit out at broadcaster ‘ARD’ for asking fans whether they would prefer to see more white players in the team, with around a fifth of those taking part in the poll saying that they would.
We’ve also seen France’s Kylian Mbappe and Marcus Thuram encouraging young people to vote “against the extremes” in their country’s upcoming election.
Anti-immigration banners were also displayed in stadium during matches with “Defend Europe” shown in from the Austria end when their side played Poland.
General secretary of Serbia’s Football Federation, Jovan Surbatovic, also threatened to withdraw Serbia from competition after hearing “kill a Serb” chants from Albanian and Croatian fans.
Albania’s Mirlind Daku was handed a two-match ban for shouting “F**k Macedonia” and “F**k Serbs” into a megaphone after their game against Croatia.
This is what Twitter users are saying as Yeovil Town release a statement condemning a club sticker with the ‘stop the boats’ message after it was spotted at the Euros in Germany…
Steve Dawson: 100% agree. The German text used on the sticker was an even more disgraceful way to use our badge.
@_dunners: Our fanbase once again shows itself up. Can’t take too long to figure out who’s behind these stickers. Fair play to the club for making a statement but needs those involved to take a look at themselves and open their minds beyond this small town rhetoric.
Vince Eveleigh: Brilliant statement from the club. Find the culprits responsible and ban them for life!
@flaxman2: Well said to my local team for making this public statement @YTFC
@mikeyp1910: Well said from Yeovil Town. Sadly, you just need to look at the responses to the statement to see just where a lot of cunts’ brains are on this issue though. And xenophobia is getting worse here in Scotland too. The people in boats aren’t stealing from you, the politicians are!
John Jeanes: A good and welcome response 👏👏👏
@bellroc37744320: credit to the board and directors of Yeovil Town football club for that statement
@chrislepkowski: Kudos and respect for taking such a strident stance on this. 👏
If the sticker just said “Stop the Boats”, maybe your argument would hold some water. Alongside the other phrase on the sticker, “Ausländer Raus” – the German-language equivalent of “Send ‘Em Back” – the xenophobic & racist associatons are clear. A slogan of the German far-right.
— Joel Butler (@DrJoelButler) June 24, 2024
The STOP THE BOATS somehow isn’t the worst bit. The AUSLANDER RAUS underneath literally means FOREIGNERS OUT 😡 This is what happens when politicians legitimise racism with fancy slogans. Morons get emboldened by the dog whistle and crawl out the woodwork. https://t.co/Kq4Qq2nin1
— Seb White (@sebdwhite) June 24, 2024
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