German FA chief says sorry for Nazi gaffe

Ollie Irish

27th, April 2021

The President of Germany’s FA has apologised publicly for making a Nazi reference when talking to his vice-president in a meeting last week, saying it had been a “grave mistake”. Gulp.

DFB chief Fritz Keller referred to Rainer Koch, a civil judge, as “Freisler”, a reference to the prominent Nazi judge Roland Freisler, a participant at the 1942 Wannsee Conference where the Nazis set out their infamous “final solution”.

Keller (pictured above – he looks exactly like you imagined, oder?) has had tense relations with several other senior DFB members, including Koch. He’s the Prince Phillip (RIP Phil) of German football, essentially.

“With my remark during the board meeting last Friday towards my first vice-president Rainer Koch I committed a grave mistake,” Keller said in a statement. “I assumed that he would accept my apology, which I offered both in writing and by phone. This estimation was wrong.”

“At times of social rifts we should as footballers, after my foul, offer to shake hands and together provide a sign of reconciliation,” Keller said. “I am happy that Rainer Koch is ready for joint discussions.”

The Koch & Keller Show. Sounds like Germany’s version of The Two Ronnies.

Posted in FAIL

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