Qatar Trolls Germany After World Cup Exit: 'Don't Leave Your Flags Behind'

Germany players are returning home after the four-time FIFA World Cup winners were eliminated from the tournament in the group stage.

Despite an impressive comeback to defeat Costa Rica 4-2 in their final group match, it wasn't enough to keep them in the World Cup as Japan beat Spain 2-1 to take both those teams through to the last 16.

It may come as no surprise that Germany's soccer demise on the world stage was celebrated in many quarters and a popular social media star in Qatar was among those who trolled the Germans as they were sent home.

Despite Qatar posting the worst World Cup record for a host nation, losing all three games without showing that they could really compete at the highest international level, its citizens took great delight in mocking the German team.

Before their opening game against Japan, Germany players had placed their hands over their mouths in protest at the threat of sanctions by FIFA over the OneLove armband.

Seven European teams had been threatened with sporting sanctions if they wore the armband symbolizing diversity and tolerance, after controversy surrounding Qatar's laws about same-sex relationships.

Twitter user @Qatari—who is Mohammed Al-Kaabi, a sports journalist in the country with over 340,000 followers—reposted the photo along with a caption: "Don't leave your flags behind."

This was met with celebration and derision with over 400,000 people liking the post.

One person hit back at the tweet, pointing out: "Making jokes about Germany team does not put you in a better place, neither your national team, which was a shame globally, nor your country censuring tourists and their cultures. If you plan a multinational event, you should be prepared to receive people not use[d] to censorship."

Another agreed with the sentiments of the original tweet, writing: "Have a good day #Germany. You can now put your hands wherever you want."

The trolling didn't stop there, as Twitter account Qattar Affairs shared a video of TV presenters mockingly waving goodbye to the German team while holding their hands over their mouths.

The video has already been viewed over 1.5 million times.

There were minor clashes in the stands after the Costa Rica game as German fans were shown pictures of Muslim soccer star Mesut Özil, who retired from playing international games for Germany citing "racism and disrespect" because of his Turkish roots.

The German supporters looked to tear the placards showing Özil's face from the people taunting them, who seemingly aimed to highlight that the team is hypocritical about making their "gagging" protest after the experiences that Özil claimed he faced.

When Germany's soccer authorities tweeted the team photo, they added in the caption: "We wanted to use our captain's armband to take a stand for values that we hold in the Germany national team: diversity and mutual respect. Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard."

They followed that with a statement in which they said that they were not making a political point with their stance.

The German F.A. tweeted: "It wasn't about making a political statement—human rights are non-negotiable. That should be taken for granted, but it still isn't the case. That's why this message is so important to us.

"Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position."

Germany striker Kai Havertz then told ESPN post-match: "Of course it's important for us to do a statement like this.

"We spoke about the game, what we can do, and I think first it was the right time to do to show the people that—yeah we try to help wherever we can. Of course FIFA makes it not easy for us but we tried to show with that thing."

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser also made the point by wearing the OneLove armband as she sat next to FIFA President Gianni Infantino to watch the game.

Earlier she criticized FIFA, saying that it was not acceptable to threaten sanctions on teams that wore the armband.

She said: "This is not all right, how federations are being put under pressure.

"In today's times it is incomprehensible that FIFA does not want people to openly stand for tolerance and against discrimination. It does not fit in our times, and it is not appropriate towards people."

After beating Costa Rica but subsequently being told that their efforts were not enough to keep them in the tournament, defensive star Antonio Rudiger told German TV channel Sport1: "We're back to square one, that's the hard reality! A lot of talent, all well and good, but there are other things that go into it.

"This last greed, this something dirty, we miss that. We are a very, very nice team!"

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