German lawmaker Katrin Göring-Eckardt has sparked controversy with a now-deleted post on social media platform X following Germany's Euros win over Hungary, in which she referred to the players' skin colour.
After Germany's 2-0 victory over Hungary in their second Euro 2024 group stage match on Wednesday, Göring-Eckardt, a vice president of the German parliament, wrote: "This team is truly exceptional. Just imagine if there were only white German players."
Göring-Eckard, from the Greens, was referring to a recent survey by public broadcaster WDR which revealed that one in five Germans would prefer seeing more white players in the national team.
The survey included in a national team documentary by WDR drew sharp criticism from coach Julian Nagelsmann, among others.
WDR said the survey was commissioned because the producers were faced with racist statements about the national team during filming.
Göring-Eckardt deleted the post four hours later following a barrage of criticism in the comments section and apologized on Thursday morning for the way she had phrased her statement.
"I was upset that 21% of Germans would prefer to see more 'whites' in the national team," Göring-Eckardt wrote in a follow-up post.
"I am proud of this team and I hope that we can convince the remaining 21%," she added.
Göring-Eckardt's initial post was criticized by fellow lawmakers, including Wolfgang Kubicki, the deputy leader of the pro-business FDP who like the Greens are part of the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"I find it really disturbing when people in Germany are judged by the colour of their skin," Kubicki wrote on X.
Ahmad Mansour, an extremism researcher, wrote on X: "Anyone who raises the issue of the German national players' skin colour is engaging in racism, regardless of the motivation behind it."
Numerous other X users also accused the Green politician of racism.