It's often said that sports and politics aren't supposed to mix, and perhaps there's a just reason for that.
That being said, it hasn't prevented players, teams, and other organizations from using sports as a platform to get various messages across. Lately, the trend is for players to take a knee as Black Lives Matter and other social justice causes have been at the forefront since George Floyd's murder at the hands Derek Chauvin in May 2020.
In the theme of social justice, Germany's authorities, namely Munich mayor Dieter Reiter, had hoped to change the colors on the famed Allianz Arena to rainbow on matchday three to show support for LGBTQ+ individuals and also to show their disgust with Hungary, who notably recently passed a law banning the distribution of content in schools that they feel "promote homosexuality and gender change".
Germany just so happen to be playing Hungary on that day, and not surprisingly, UEFA have stepped in to avoid angering the Hungarians. That hasn't prevented other Bundesliga teams from declaring that they'll light up their stadiums in rainbow colors, with Wolfsburg, Cologne, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hertha Berlin among those expected to take part.
And in addition, die Mannschaft skipper Manuel Neuer was spotted wearing a rainbow-themed armband for Germany's clash with Portugal and is anticipated to do so against Hungary.
Although UEFA have not allowed Germany to change their colors to rainbow for this match, they haven't outright blocked them from doing so at different dates, with June 28th or between July 3rd and July 9th. Both center around Christopher Street Day, which are to honor an uprising by the gay community that took place in New York in 1969.
Simply put, the only day that's absolutely off limits is on June 23rd, when Hungary show up as die Mannschaft seek to book their spot in the knockout rounds.
