German basketball star Dennis Schröder was subjected to racist abuse during his team’s 107-88 win over Lithuania at the 2025 EuroBasket championship.
“You can insult me, do whatever you want, but monkey noises are not acceptable,” he told reporters after the Group B game in Tampere, Finland. “Racism simply does not belong in this sport.”
What do we know about the racist incident?
Schröder, 31, said he and members of ‘s coaching staff had heard the noises coming from the Lithuanian fan block while the teams were leaving the court at half-time.
“I wish the people who made the monkey noises had the guts to do that outside the arena,” wrote Schröder on social media later. “Because then, I swear on my father’s grave, they would have to face the consequences which they escape in the arena.”
What have the reactions to the racist incident been?
The president of the German Basketball Federation (DBB), Ingo Weiss, confirmed the incident and said: “This sort of thing has no place anywhere and certainly not in our colorful, diverse and tolerant basketball.”
Later, Schröder’s wife, Ellen, posted screenshots of other racist insults aimed at her husband on social media. “Unfortunately, when you’re in the public eye, such insults are a daily occurrence,” she wrote.
After being made aware of the incident, the Lithuanian players apologized to Schröder, while Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF) president Mindaugas Balciunas said: “We want to send a clear signal that this is absolutely unacceptable for us. It contradicts the values of basketball and the values of our society.”
World basketball’s governing body FIBA said it had “passed on relevant video footage and information” to the local Finnish authorities. It added in a statement that a spectator was identified as being responsible for the racial abuse.
“This person has been banned from attending any further games of FIBA EuroBasket 2025,” FIBA said.
Edited by: Rana Taha
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