Germany defender Mats Hummels, and head coach Joachim Löw would have liked to have seen the Allianz Arena in Pride colours on Wednesday.
UEFA has denied a request from Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter to light the stadium in rainbow colours for the Euro 2020 game with Hungary.
The Hungarian parliament has recently passed a number of draconian anti-LGBTQ laws, primarily aimed at hiding non-heterosexual lifestyles from citizens under 18.
“For me personally, I would have enjoyed it," Hummels said of the rainbow colours, "I am a supporter of messages like this to the world, full stop.
"Footballers and other sporting personalities can have a positive impact and send the right signs.
“I think we can be happy how many of the lads, especially in our national team, are aware of their responsibilities.
“It's good to have it as a discussion, we need to talk about it in public."
🌈✊🏼 pic.twitter.com/YlGwTcwPOu
— Antoine Griezmann (@AntoGriezmann) June 22, 2021
During his pre-match press conference, Hummels was wearing a gender neutral adidas t-shirt released for this year's Pride celebrations which contained the message "Love Unites".
The Borussia Dortmund defender highlighted the case of Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib, who became the first active NFL player to come out as gay.
"There was a player in the NFL who came out yesterday and it’s not necessary - it should be accepted and normal in sport," Hummels said.
“It shouldn’t be a big thing any more. Small gestures, small signals are a step into the right direction, it’s about time it happened.”
"This is what we are doing in our team, like Manu [Neuer, who will still wear his rainbow-coloured captain's armband].
"It is a positive signal that many players are aware of their responsibilities."
German head coach Löw added, "I would have been happy if the stadium had been illuminated in the rainbow colours.
“They should be shown, these values. We have sent these signals in the past and we will in the future.
"The important thing is to live these values.”
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