An anti-racism statement before kick-off at the Standard de Liège – Club Brugge football match on Sunday evening took a surprising turn after a group of visiting supporters responded with Nazi salutes.
Before the game, Standard's players walked onto the pitch together with 300 youth players wearing white and red masks (the club's colours) covering their entire faces, in a silent statement against racism.
However, the action provoked a reaction from a section of the Brugge supporters: a large group of the club's supporters core group brought the so-called Kühnen salute (raising thumb, index finger and middle finger in the air with outstretched arms), a variant of the Hitler salute named after neo-Nazi leader Michael Kühnen.
The gesture was captured on video and widely shared on social media, with many users calling on the Belgian Football Association and the police to take serious action.
New season, same shit. Thuis en uit. Neo-nazigroeten. Niet enkelingen, maar in groep. De excuses (geen bewijs, moeilijk te identificeren…) zijn al lang op.
Jullie hebben meer dan genoeg macht om dit te bestraffen en verbannen, doe iets. @PolitieBrugge @ClubBrugge @ProLeagueBE pic.twitter.com/OXrAZFpoBe — Juan Benjumea (@_juanbenjumea) August 4, 2024
Translation: "New season, same shit. Home and away. Neo-Nazi salutes. Not by individual people, but in groups. The excuses (no evidence, hard to identify...) have long run out. You guys have more than enough power to punish and ban this, do something."
In the meantime, Club Brugge released a short statement to "strongly condemn" the behaviour. The club said it would identify and sanction the people involved.
"During the match, images of 'supporters' in the away box doing a so-called Kühnen salute appeared on social media," the statement on the club's website reads.
"Club will investigate this further, actively support the police in this, identify the supporters and subsequently sanction this itself within its possibilities. There is no place for racism within the blue-black family," said the Flemish club, which lost the game 1-0 after a 64th minute goal by Standard's midfielder Marko Bulat.
The incident is the second racist gesture made by Club Brugge fans in recent weeks. A supporter was identified by police after making a Hitler salute after the Super Cup defeat against Union Saint Gilloise last month.
