Felix Nmecha at Borussia Dortmund, the clause on homophobic posts – Corriere.it

Felix Nmecha he is 22 years old and in Germany he is considered one of the brightest talents. He grew up in the academy of Manchester Cityin two seasons al Wolfsburg the midfielder has definitively consecrated himself, so as to convince the Borussia Dortmund – who lost the Bundesliga a month and a half ago in the cruelest way possible – to invest 30 million euros in him and thus make him the eighth most expensive purchase in the club’s history. In short, the fans should be enthusiastic, but they are not at all. Indeed, they are furious.

Underlying it all is a case that goes beyond football and embraces politics. Felix Nmecha, in fact, has repeatedly shared homophobic and transphobic posts on social media and now he finds himself playing for a compact fan base around the slogan «echte Liebe“, Meaning what “true love”. The yellow and black people have always been proud of their sense of inclusion and diversity, so much so that in recent weeks the group ballspiel vereintthe most active against all discrimination, he went to the club’s headquarters pleading with managers to consider their own values ​​before completing the signing.

Accused twice

But the response from the CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and of the president Reinhold Lunow she was dry: “During intense talks he completely convinced us that he has no transphobic or homophobic ideas.” Felix himself has emphasized that he respects and loves all people, regardless of skin color, religion or sexual orientation. He who, a devout Christian, shared a post on Instagram in February by Matt Walsh, a leading political commentator for the American right, with which the latter teased the parent of a transgender child. Overwhelmed by criticism,
Nmecha
he later explained
I disagree with most of what Matt Walsh said, but no apology ever came out of his mouth.

But curious clause: millionaire fine in case of other posts

And it was not an isolated episode. In early June, the 22-year-old posted a story comparing the Pride Month, LGBT pride month, to devil worship. After immediately deleting everything, he then posted a photo in which he embraced the Stuttgart defender Josha Vagnoman with a shirt embellished with the colors of the rainbow: «In my football journey I have met people of all different backgrounds, ethnicities and beliefs. It is important to clarify that I do not discriminate against anyone,” the caption read. The fact is that in the end Nmecha was hired as a direct replacement for Jude Bellingham, who in the meantime moved to Real Madrid

. Borussia Dortmund, however, wanted to protect themselves and did so by including the player in the contract a particular clause: if he were to express himself (through the media or social media) against the values ​​that the yellow and black club believes he embodies, he would be fined. And he could find himself shelling out up to one million euros.