Sweden’s Durmaz faces online abuse
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Sweden substitute Jimmy Durmaz was subjected to a storm of racial hatred and threats on social media after giving away the free kick that led to Toni Kroos’s late winner for Germany in their Group F World Cup clash on Saturday.
The stream of abuse on the 29-year-old’s Instagram account began almost as soon as the ball hit the back of the net and his teammates jumped to his defense with striker and fellow substitute John Guidetti praising his colleague.
“He ran and fought the whole game, it’s unlucky — it’s completely idiotic to subject him to hate for that,” Guidetti said.
“No shadow falls over Jimmy, there is nothing bad to say about him. People can’t blame one person. You win as a team and you lose as a team,” midfielder Albin Ekdal told the daily Aftonbladet.
Durmaz, who was born in Sweden to Assyrian parents who had emigrated from Turkey, played down the abuse.
“It’s nothing I’m bothered about,” he said. “I’m here proud and representing my country.”
The chain of abuse was met with outrage from observers and Durmaz’s fans.
“Crazy people openly raging with racism against Jimmy Durmaz after a football match unfortunately says too much about the world we live in,” Swedish sports journalist Patrick Ekwall tweeted yesterday.
“Don’t let them get to you! You’re amazing,” a fan wrote on Durmaz’s Instagram account
The Swedes looked like securing a draw until Kroos struck deep into stoppage time to seal a 2-1 win and emotions boiled over after the final whistle as an angry Sweden coach Janne Andersson accused German officials of taunting his side.
Sweden substitute Pontus Jansson said he had lost his temper with the Germans but accepted they had ultimately regretted their actions.
“Some of them celebrated in a disrespectful way in my opinion. There was a lot of feelings, we had just let in a goal and lost the game, so it was pretty sour,” he said. “Maybe there was unnecessary anger (from me), but they apologized afterwards so it’s just a case of accepting it. There were a lot of feelings in the heat of the moment.”
Sweden plays Mexico in Yekaterinburg on June 27.
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