After an Instagram post about Ramadan, national player Rüdiger feels defamed. He is taking legal action against a journalist with the DFB. The journalist sticks to his point of view.

National player Antonio Rüdiger (31) and the German Football Association (DFB) are taking legal action against journalist Julian Reichelt. Rüdiger feels denigrated and defamed by Reichelt’s criticism of a photo he published on Instagram at the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The Real Madrid professional footballer has therefore filed a criminal complaint with the Berlin public prosecutor’s office, and the association has reported the matter to the Central Office for Combating Cybercrime (ZIT) of the Frankfurt/Main public prosecutor’s office.

In his post on March 11, Rüdiger, a practicing Muslim, posted a photo of himself in a white robe on a prayer mat. The index finger of his right hand points to the sky. “May the Almighty accept our fasting and prayers,” wrote Rüdiger as a greeting for Ramadan. In Reichelt’s opinion, Rüdiger was making an Islamist gesture by raising his index finger.

Rüdiger’s management and the DFB confirmed the reports to the German Press Agency. First the “Bild” had reported. The criminal complaint against Reichelt is available to the German Press Agency. The charges relate to insult or defamation, inciting insult and incitement to hatred. Rüdiger himself did not wish to comment on the matter.

Reichelt stood by his assessment of Rüdiger’s gesture on Monday evening and also stated on X (formerly Twitter): “Even and especially because it’s about a popular national player, you can’t let yourself be intimidated. (…) What Antonio Rüdiger and the DFB are using here are methods of intimidation.”

According to “Bild”, the Federal Ministry of the Interior explained that, from its point of view, the raised finger “is to be understood as a profession of faith and in this respect is to be classified as unproblematic with regard to public safety. This applies regardless of the fact that Islamist groups are appropriating this symbol and misusing it for their own purposes”.

In certain contexts, pointing the finger could be seen as a sign of Salafist or Islamist radicalization if actors deliberately make use of this ambiguity. “It depends on the individual case,” the ministry continued.