Bundesliga club Wolfsburg wears rainbow-colored armbands to support the LGBT community, though former Dinamo player Josip Brekalo refuses to be one of them.
The colorful captain’s band of Wolfsburg displays rainbow stripes as part of a club policy to support LGBT communities. Quite innocent, it seems, not everyone agrees with the idea, and the main opponent is none other than Croatian footballer Josip Brekalo, reports Goal.hr on August 27, 2018.
The controversial 20-year-old footballer has disturbed the German public over the matter and is the subject of numerous homophobic charges following a statement that he would never wear this armband because it opposed his beliefs.
“I was raised very religiously, so if someone chooses a different way of life, that’s okay with me because that’s their thing, but I do not have to and I do not want to wear a special symbol for someone else, which opposes my Christian worldview,” explained Brekalo.
The Croatian footballer dug himself into an even bigger hole before the statement, creating chaos on Instagram to another Wolfsburg player wearing said band. Brekalo’s defense was that he had a malfunctioning phone.
Ein klares Zeichen gegen Ausgrenzung und für Vielfalt: Kapitän @JossGuilavogui wird – genauso wie die Kapitäne und Kapitäninnen aller VfL-Mannschaften – sein Team künftig mit einer Regenbogen-Kapitänsbinde aufs Spielfeld führen. ??? #VfLWolfsburg #Vielfalt pic.twitter.com/MMHMkeB3WO
— VfL Wolfsburg (@VfL_Wolfsburg) August 24, 2018
“I would never say something like this. It’s obviously a problem with my phone,” Brekalo was quoted saying.
Despite the player’s comments, Wolfsburg does not intend to stop with their policy, and the captains of all the selections, from the youngest to the senior teams, will wear these armbands until the end of the season.
Brekalo came to Wolfsburg from Dinamo two years ago for 10 million euro. During his career in Germany, he has played 49 matches, scored seven goals and assisted four for Wolfsburg and Stuttgart (where he was on loan).
Experts consider him to be one of the best young attackers not only in the Bundesliga, but also in Europe. He is a key player for the Croatia U21 team, and coach Zlatko Dalić has said he would seriously count on him for Croatia’s A-team when the time is right.
