Borussia Dortmund forward Jadon Sancho and other Bundesliga players will face no further disciplinary action after they made anti-racism statements during matches last weekend.
England international Sancho unveiled a ‘Justice for George Floyd’ T-shirt after scoring against Paderborn.
Floyd, an unarmed black man, died while being restrained by a white Minneapolis police officer on 25 May.
Protests have been held across the United States and globally.
Sancho’s Dortmund team-mate Achraf Hakimi also wore a ‘Justice for George Floyd’ T-shirt, while Schalke’s Weston McKennie wore a similar armband and Marcus Thuram of Borussia Monchengladbach kneeled in tribute to Floyd after scoring.
In a statement, the German Football Association (DFB) said no proceedings would take place against the four players “because of their solidarity and anti-racism statements”.
It added: “The panel also intends to maintain this line in the event of renewed anti-racism campaigns to mark the violent death of George Floyd on the coming match days.”
Fifa’s rules state that players must not display political statements but president Gianni Infantino said on Tuesday: “For the avoidance of doubt, in a Fifa competition the recent demonstrations of players in Bundesliga matches would deserve an applause and not a punishment.
“We all must say no to racism and any form of discrimination.”
DFB president Fritz Keller said: “I expressly welcome the far-sighted decision of the DFB control committee and am very happy about it. The DFB is firmly against all forms of racism, discrimination and violence and stands for tolerance, openness and diversity – values that are also in the DFB statutes.
“So the actions of the players have our respect and understanding. “
Dr Anton Nachreiner, chairman of the DFB control committee, added: “Of course, the DFB control committee always has the requirements of the Fifa football rules and the DFB regulations in mind.
“In the specific case, however, these are targeted anti-racism campaigns by the players, which are committed to values for which the DFB also stands and always stands for.”
The Football Association said it would take a “common sense approach” to any protests such as those seen in the Bundesliga when English football resumes later this month.
