Real Madrid star linked with terrorist group, takes legal action

A Real Madrid star is now understood to have taken legal action after shock claims that he has links with a terrorist group.  

The German Football Association (DFB) has taken the side of centre-back Antonio Rudiger after he was slammed by former BILD editor Julian Reichelt for showing an "Islamist" symbol on social media recently.  

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Earlier this month, the 31-year-old uploaded a picture to Instagram in which he can be seen pointing his index finger to the sky while wearing a white robe and sitting on a prayer mat.  

The defender made the post as a welcome to Ramadan, a month in which Muslims observe fasting.  

"Ramadan Mubarak to all Muslims around the world. May the Almighty accept our fasting and prayers," he wrote in the caption of the picture.  

A post shared by Antonio Rüdiger (@toniruediger)

Reichelt, however, associated the position of his index finger with a terrorist organisation, taking to X to express his views.  

"For everyone who doesn't want to recognize Antonio Rüdiger's Islamist greeting as an Islamist greeting: the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution calls this gesture the 'IS finger' and sees the index finger as a clear sign of Islamism," he wrote at the time, per the Daily Mail.  

The Los Blancos star, who is said to felt severely insulted by the former editor's comments, has now reportedly submitted a criminal complaint against Reichelt, while the DFB is believed to have reported the case to the Berlin public prosecutor's office too.  

The initial post on X by Reichelt is believed to have been reported as hate speech by Rudiger, while the Germany defender's lawyers have also sent Reichelt a letter regarding his