"Germany's national soccer team has run into a dust-up over the refusal of some of its players to sing the country's national anthem..."

"The national team's coach, Jogi Löw, weighed in Wednesday, declaring to the tabloid that he wouldn't force players to sing if they didn't want to. "Our boys identify totally with the national team and Germany, but one also has to consider their heritage," he was quoted as saying."

"In a Thursday evening warm-up match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mr. Özil wasn't singing; nor were Sami Khedira, whose mother is German and whose father is Tunisian, or Piotr Trochowski, who was born in Poland but has lived in Germany since the age of 5.

The soccer association says it discussed singing the anthem with the national players but doesn't require them to sing. "We're happy if they do, but it's up to them," a spokesman says."

"Andreas Merx, a German management consultant in diversity and antidiscrimination matters who describes himself as a passionate soccer fan, points out that not all of the players' decisions on the anthem cleave to heritage. "For some it's not as emotional a matter as others, and perhaps some just don't like to sing—or can't sing very well, for that matter," Mr. Merx said."

Legyünk mi is megértők, mint az európai és demokratikus németek.