By: V4 Agency
Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international public broadcaster, has published a report about the firing of Hungarian goalkeeping coach Zsolt Petry from Hertha Berlin. The article’s title contains a lie and we asked DW why.
The fact that Hertha BSC, a football team playing in Germany’s top tier Bundesliga sacked its Hungarian goalkeeping coach Zsolt Petry for his political opinion has triggered public outrage in both Hungary and Germany.
Hertha BSC, a club in Germany’s top tier Bundesliga, has fired its goalkeeping coach because of his opinion….
Deutsche Welle’s English language service has also covered the outrageous dismissal, featuring a flagrant falsehood in the title of its article, which reads:
“Hertha Berlin sack goalkeeping coach over homophobic and anti-migrant comments.”
The truth is that Zsolt Petry did not make homophobic remarks. In fact he defended the right of the Hungarian national team’s goalkeeper to freedom of opinion and expression.
“The majority of Hungarian society disagrees with Peter Gulacsi’s liberal opinion on rainbow families. This is why many have begun to criticise him, even though expressing one’s opinion is not morally attackable. After all, Peter simply stood by his principles. In principle, he cannot and should not be condemned for expressing his views. It is another question whether people agree with his stance or not. As an athlete in his place, I would focus on football and refrain from formulating opinions on public or social policy issues. […] However, I don’t know what could’ve motivated Peter to stand with homosexual, transvestite and other gender identities. I certainly wouldn’t have stirred up emotions in his place,” Petry said.
Contrary to the title, DW shamelessly quotes Hertha CEO Carsten Schmidt in its article as saying: “At no point has he [Petry] ever acted in a homophobic or xenophobic manner.”
Of course, Deutsche Welle may have had difficulty in understanding the Hungarian language, but the full interview is also available here, in English.
V4NA has asked DW the following questions:
- Why did you lie that Hertha BSC’s goalkeeping coach, Zsolt Petry, had made homophobic comments?
- What is your opinion on such an egregious breach of freedom of opinion and expression taking place in Germany?
- Do you condemn the firing of the coach?