The former Bundesliga professional Pablo Thiam sees a “dangerous development” due to increasing racism in Germany. The reasons for this include the entry of the AfD into parliament, said the 45-year-old in an interview with the world: “Some citizens now think to themselves: ‘If politicians are allowed to say something like this, then we are allowed to do it’,” Thiam said.
Thiam, who has Guinean roots and works as an integration officer and junior manager at VfL Wolfsburg, sees this development as a step backwards.
“In the ’80s and ’90s, as a black soccer player, I was an absolute exotic. Then came people like Anthony Yeboah, Souleymane Sane and others, and at some point it was just normal. Then came the first major refugee movement in 2015 – and suddenly the mood changed,” Thiam said.
Thiam, who played in the Bundesliga for 1. FC Cologne, VfB Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich, had made negative experiences regarding his skin colour especially in East Germany during his active career.
“I have often experienced racist hostilities and had unpleasant encounters there,” Thiam reported. As an active player, he also once rejected an offer from Berlin “because I didn’t want to play football in the East”.
But he had the worst experience of racism elsewhere. “That was one and a half years ago, but in the Oldenburg area, on the verge of a compulsory match of our U23 team. Then a fan insulted me in the worst way,” Thiam said. He had not forgotten the exact wording: “‘Why don’t you go home, you nigger'”, Thiam remembered.
