San Marino call for apology from Germany forward Thomas Muller
Last updated on .From the section European Football
San Marino officials have demanded an apology from Germany forward Thomas Muller, who made comments about the team following an 8-0 win on Friday.
Muller said that playing a "team of amateurs" in the World Cup qualifier put German players at risk of injury, and Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said "San Marino has nothing to do with professional football".
San Marino Olympic Committee spokesman Alan Gasperoni offered 10 reasons for the game to be played and told Muller that Germany "does not own the game".
And San Marino Secretary of State for Tourism and Sport, Teodoro Lonfernini, called for a formal apology.
"Germany are world champions, but they are not the master of the world," said Lonfernini.
Joachim Low's side were 2-0 up inside nine minutes and ran out easy winners, with a hat-trick from former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry on his debut, two from Jonas Hector, an own goal and strikes from Kevin Volland and Sami Khedira.
Muller - who has not scored for Bayern in the Bundesliga yet this season - said afterwards that while "it's a highlight for San Marino to play the world champions", the game should not have been played.
| When San Marino meet Germany |
|---|
| 6 September 2006: San Marino 0-13 Germany (Podolski 4, Schweinsteiger 2, Klose 2, Hitzlsperger 2, Ballack, Friedrich, Schneider. |
| 2 June 2007: Germany 6-0 San Marino (Kuranyi, Jansen, Frings, Gomez 2, Fritz) |
| 11 November 2016: San Marino 0-8 Germany (Khedira, Gnabry 3, Hector 2, Volland, OG) |
"It served to show that even against lowly teams like ours you cannot score a goal and don't say you were not frustrated when [goalkeeper Aldo] Simoncini denied you," Gasperoni said in the letter posted on Facebook.
"It also served to show that football belongs to everyone who loves it and we are part of that, whether you like it or not."
San Marino are ranked 201st in the Fifa rankings, while Germany are second.
Germany, who travel to Italy on Tuesday for a friendly match, are top of Group C on 12 points after winning all four matches, with Northern Ireland second on seven points. San Marino are bottom and are yet to pick up a point.
