Fuss over Insta photo:

Antonio Rüdiger and the DFB press charges against journalists!

Antonio Rüdiger takes legal action against journalists.

(Bild: APA/AFP/OSCAR DEL POZO)

Antonio Rüdiger and the German Football Association (DFB) are taking legal action against a journalist. The professional footballer feels disparaged and defamed by the journalist's criticism of a photo he published on Instagram at the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. He filed a criminal complaint with the Berlin public prosecutor's office. The DFB reported the matter to the Central Office for Combating Cybercrime of the Public Prosecutor General's Office in Frankfurt.

In his post on March 11, the practicing Muslim Rüdiger, teammate of David Alaba at Real, 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 the journalist's opinion, Rüdiger was making an Islamist gesture by raising his index finger.

"Gesture is being misused"
According to "Bild", the Federal Ministry of the Interior explained that, in its view, the raised finger "is to be understood as a profession of faith and can therefore be classified as unproblematic in terms of 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.