Hertha Berlin criticizes ultra fans' anti-gay banner

Posted October 23, 2016 7:00 am

The Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) - Hertha Berlin has criticized supporters who displayed a large anti-gay banner during the side's Bundesliga win over Cologne on Saturday.

The banner, approximately 50 meters (yards) long, said, "WH96: Rather a mother than two fathers!"

It was apparently directed at a Cologne ultra group called Die Wilde Horde 1996 (WH96), whose members have been involved in an ongoing spat with their Berlin counterparts.

Hertha reacted with a tweet to its fans to "Leave out the stupidity! Hertha Berlin has always distanced itself from every form of discrimination."

The banner had drawn a mostly negative reaction on social media. Football magazine 11 Freunde wrote, "A pity, Hertha, everything thrown away again."

Hertha board member Paul Keuter responded by saying, "This stupid discrimination has definitely nothing to do with Hertha Berlin."

The German football federation is looking into the matter, the chairman of its supervisory board Anton Nachreiner told Cologne newspaper Express.

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