Germany's football federation (DFB) said it was planning history lessons for young German internationals after Ashkan Dejagah, an Iran-born player in the German under-21 team, caused controversy by withdrawing from a match against Israel.
Dejagah's withdrawal stirred controversy after German daily newspaper Bild quoted the player earlier this month as saying his decision not to play was politically motivated.
"We must have an intellectual discussion with every boy and girl who comes to us... about what Germany is," Theo Zwanziger, DFB president, was quoted as saying in the Berliner Morgenpost daily.
Matthias Sammer, DFB sporting director, and Oliver Bierhoff, senior team manager, were preparing an educational programme, according to Zwanziger, who added that an examination of Germany's past was necessary for youngsters with immigrant backgrounds.
Harald Stenger, DFB spokesman, confirmed the plan.
The DFB's move comes after Dejagah, an Iran-born German under-21 international, withdrew from a European Championship qualifier against Israel for 'personal reasons'.
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"We must have an intellectual discussion with every boy and girl who comes to us... about what Germany is."
Theo Zwanziger,
German football federation president |
Dejagah, who plays for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg, was born in Tehran and holds both German and Iranian passports.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has refused to recognise Israel's right to exist and Iranian citizens are forbidden from travelling to Israel.
Good relations with Israel are a top priority in Germany because of the Holocaust, in which some 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis.
Germany's top Jewish organisation and some politicians demanded Dejagah be excluded from the national football team.
Last week Zwanziger said Dejagah had requested not to play in the Israel match out of concern for family members still in Iran and that he would retain his place in the national side.