Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger taking legal action after media boss links him to terrorist organisation

Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger and the German Football Association (DfB) have taken legal action against media boss Julian Reichelt, accusing him of hate speech.

Reichelt, formerly Editor-in-chief of BILD digital between 2017 and 2021, accused Rudiger of making a gesture related to terrorist organisation Islamic State, also known as IS, in an Instagram post made by Rudiger.

The 31-year-old Berlin native posted on his Instagram a picture with his right finger in the air, celebrating Ramadan with the following caption.

“Ramadan Mubarak to all Muslims around the world. May the almighty accept our fasting and prayers. #AlwaysBelieve”

Reichelt responded to this with a picture of German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wearing a ‘OneLove’ armband supporting the LGBTQIA+ community in Qatar at the 2022 World Cup, alongside a picture of Rudiger.

“We’ve been listening to this tolerance armband nonsense for years, our jerseys are suddenly pink to symbolise diversity, and then the leader of the German defence Antonio Rudiger shows the Islamists’ ISIS salute. #FRAGER”

Seit Jahren hören wir uns diesen Toleranz-Armbinden-Schwachsinn an, unsere Trikots sind plötzlich Pink, um Vielfalt zu symbolisieren, und dann zeigt der deutsche Abwehrchef Antonio Rüdiger den ISIS-Gruß der Islamisten. #FRAGER pic.twitter.com/UDwbIbrYLm

— Julian Reichelt (@jreichelt) March 23, 2024

An article was also posted in NIUS, a right-leaning outlet, of which Reichelt is part of. They also accused Rudiger of referencing the terrorist organisation, after which Rudiger and the DfB decided to elevate the matter to the authorities, as per Marca. Rudiger’s complaint accuses Reichelt of ‘insult, slander, inflammatory insult and sedition’, while the DFB accuse him of hate