The president of the International Football Federation (FIFA), Swiss Gianni Infantino, condemned the racist abuse that occurred during two matches in the first round of the German Cup football competition. In a statement, Infantino said: “What happened is unacceptable.” He added: “I repeat and will continue to do so. There is no place for racism in football,” commenting on the stoppage of the match between Schalke (second division) and hosts Lokomotive Leipzig (fourth division) on Sunday after racist insults targeted the Ghanaian winger Christopher Antwi-Adjei by the home fans. An announcement was made over the stadium loudspeakers condemning the racist abuse, and after the match resumed, the winger was repeatedly booed by the home team’s fans, prompting Lokomotive Leipzig to later issue an apology on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, a player from Kaiserslautern (second division) claimed he was subjected to racist abuse from a fan of the host RSV Eintracht (fifth division) during the same round of the cup. Infantino confirmed that FIFA “will continue to closely monitor these incidents” and promised to cooperate with the German Football Association “in combating racism.”