Swedish sports minister wears Durmaz’s jersey after racial abuse
Sweden's Jimmy Durmaz warms up for Wednesday's match. Photo: AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia/TT ..
Sweden's Jimmy Durmaz warms up for Wednesday's match. Photo: AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia/TT
Sweden's Sports Minister Annika Strandhäll wore a Jimmy Durmaz football jersey in parliament on Wednesday in support of Sweden's World Cup player who faced a wave of racial attacks after a defeat against Germany at the weekend.
It came ahead of Sweden's make-or-break final Group F match against Mexico on Wednesday at 4 pm Swedish time.
In a show of solidarity, Strandhäll posted on Instagram and Facebook a photo of herself wearing a blue and yellow jersey bearing Durmaz's name and number 21, and wrote the hashtag #viärsverige ("we are Sweden").
Durmaz was born in Sweden to Assyrian parents who emigrated from Turkey. Teammates came quickly to the 29-year-old midfielder's defence after his Instagram account saw a storm of racial abuse and threats after his foul led to Toni Kroos's late free-kick that handed Germany a 2-1 victory on Saturday.
READ ALSO: 'When Durmaz took us to the World Cup he was a hero, now he makes a mistake he's the other'
Swedish media also published a photo of Strandhäll wearing the jersey as she took part in a parliamentary session.
On Sunday, she came out in defence of Durmaz, who plays for Toulouse, on her Instagram account.
"Getting angry and upset is fully understandable. But allowing this to turn into racial and hateful insults towards one single player is unjustifiable," Strandhall wrote.