Chancellor Merkel 'collateral damage' as Germany loses to Mexico at World Cup
Germany fans' anger after their World Cup defeat to Mexico has spilled over to Chancellor Merkel and her immigration policy.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a press conference in Berlin on June 13. Photo:Reuters. |
Germany, the reigning World Cup champions, were defeated 1-0 by Mexico on June 17. This was the first time Germany had lost in the opening match of the World Cup since 1986, according toSputnik.
After the match, German fans took to Twitter to express their disappointment and offered a number of reasons for the poor performance of their national team. Some said Germany lacked team spirit and fighting spirit. Some joked that the match resembled the Nazis' defeat in the Battle of Moscow during World War II.
Many Twitter users also pointed out that the team's failure made Germans even more dissatisfied with the government's immigration policy, causing angry reactions and outrage against politicians, especially Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"The German team plays as weakly as Merkel," one person commented. "Coach Joachim Low has a similar hairstyle to Merkel. Is this a coincidence, or do they both want to bring Germany down?" Another person compared the German team's head coach to Chancellor Merkel.
"Is Interior Minister Will Seehofer set to push his agenda? Or will migrants be the next to defeat Germany?" one user asked. Seehofer is one of the critics of Merkel's immigration policy. Last week he proposed asking German border guards to deny entry to refugees registered in other European countries.
However, there are still many people optimistic about Germany's next matches. German government spokesman Steffen Seibert encouraged the team to keep fighting and said that the fans were always with them. Germany will continue their Group F matches against Sweden in Sochi on June 23 and South Korea in Kazan on June 27.