Bayern Munich shows support for Black Lives Matter protests

Bayern becomes the latest high-profile German club to support the protests against police brutality and for racial equality.

Serge Gnabry of Bayern Munich wears an armlet reading ‘Black Lives Matter’ during the Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in Leverkusen on Saturday.

Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich showed its support for the Black Lives Matter protests on Saturday, following the death of black American man George Floyd last month.

As thousands assembled in Berlin and Munich to demonstrate against police brutality and for racial equality, Bayern became the highest-profile German club to support the protests. Prior to its clash with Bayer Leverkusen, players warmed up in t-shirts bearing both the Black Lives Matter hashtag and the slogan of the club’s official “Reds Against Racism” campaign.

'Togetherness'

“FC Bayern stands for a world in which racism, discrimination, hate, injustice and violence have no place. The death of George Floyd and the images from the USA have shocked us all,” said club president Herbert Hainer in a statement.

“It’s a matter of actively and loudly showing our colours. Black Lives Matter and Reds Against Racism. We stand for togetherness that goes far beyond sports.”

During the game, all Bayern players also wore black armbands bearing the words “Black Lives Matter.”

Pierre Kunde Malong became the latest Bundesliga player to pay tribute to Floyd when he took a knee after scoring the second goal in Mainz's 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Cameroonian Malong will face no sanction from the German Football Federation (DFB) for the gesture after it gave the green light on Wednesday to players who wanted to honour Floyd or support the protests which have raged across the USA.

Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlin players staged a show of support for the protests by taking the knee ahead of their match on Saturday.

Dortmund players also wore messages on their T-shirts during their pre-match warm-up.

Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi wore the messages “no justice, no peace”, while midfielders Axel Witsel and Emre Can's T-shirts displayed the words “black”, “white” and “yellow” crossed out, with the word “human” below.