Arsene Wenger blames 'political demonstration' for Germany's World Cup exit
By Tom Gott
Arsene Wenger has blamed Germany's refusal to focus on football for their abrupt exit from the World Cup.
The Germans failed to advance from the group stage for the second consecutive tournament but made a bold statement ahead of their first match against Japan, with their players posing with their mouths covered after they were pressured into abandoning the decision to wear the OneLove armband in protest of Qatar's anti-LGBTQ laws.
Hansi Flick's side would go on to lose that game 2-1 which, after a draw with Spain and victory over Costa Rica, proved fatal to their World Cup hopes as they were knocked out early once again.
When asked about Germany's elimination, Wenger suggested nations who refused to listen to FIFA's advice to 'focus on the football' were not mentally prepared for a World Cup.
“You know when you go to a World Cup, you know you can’t lose the first game," Wenger said. "The teams who have the experience to perform in tournaments like France and England played well in the first game.
“The teams who were mentally ready, with a mindset to focus on competition, and not the political demonstrations.”
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Australia, who led the early protests with a powerful video on the eve of the tournament, did manage to make it through to the knockout stages,
The decision for Germany and other nations, including England and Wales, to abandon the OneLove armbands was met with fierce criticism from a number of supporters, but the Football Associations of the countries involved argued that they had been threatened with sporting sanctions.
Initial threats of fines did not perturb the nations involved but FIFA are alleged to have threatened to book any player who wore the armband, after which the plan to wear the armbands was discarded.