German Soccer Fans Fume Over Momentous Foul

BERLIN (May 18) -- As fans around the globe get ready for soccer's World Cup in South Africa, the beautiful game is showing its nasty side in Germany.

In a plot befitting a pulp fiction thriller, Kevin-Prince Boateng, the bad boy of German soccer, injured the captain of the German national team during a match over the weekend, putting Michael Ballack on the bench and depriving Germany's beloved "Capitano" of his last chance to try to win a World Cup championship.

The ugly foul took place during a match on Saturday. Both men play in Britain's premier league, Boateng for FC Portsmouth and Ballack for FC Chelsea.

Early in the match between Portsmouth and Chelsea, Ballack stepped on Boateng's foot but was not penalized by referees. Later in the game, video images appear to show Boateng attacking Ballack as he dribbled, spiking him in the ankle instead of playing the ball. Ballack fell to the ground in excruciating pain, grabbing his ankle.

Commentators have suggested that Boateng was getting even with Ballack for past confrontations. Some suggested that he blamed Ballack, 33, for keeping him off the German national team, even as his younger brother, Jerome, made the team. Boateng will play instead for Ghana, the country of his father's birth.

Some commentators wondered whether Boateng was trying to take Ballack out so he couldn't play during the June 23 World Cup match between Germany and Ghana.

Boateng insists that he did not intentionally foul Ballack.

"All I can do is say I am sorry," he told the daily Bild newspaper. "I got there too late and completely jammed him. It looked bad. I apologized twice on the field and now for the third time. I'm sorry. It wasn't intentional."

The incident has enraged German fans. Many people believe Boateng, a scrappy, tattoo-clad immigrant kid from Berlin's working class Wedding neighborhood, fouled Ballack on purpose. Emotions are boiling over, from the anger of Ballack's teammates and fans to racist outbursts by visitors to fan blogs.

The online edition of British tabloid The Sun warned that "Boateng is in danger of becoming a target of hatred in Germany."

On Facebook, fans created several pages to vent their anger, such as "K.P. Boateng – Staatsfeind Nr. 1" (K.P. Boateng – Public Enemy No. 1") or "Anti Kevin Prince Boateng." While many of the comments about the incident are juvenile and not worth repeating here, one Facebook user, who goes by the name Janine Hilger, summed up what many people are thinking in Germany.

"The worst part of this is the injustice," she wrote. "That he can get away with it with impunity; that he achieved what he wanted and now is laughing behind our backs."

Boateng, 23, was a talented player in the German youth leagues and made it to the professional Bundesliga. His immigrant background, tattoos, "gangsta"-style attire off the field and aggressive playing and trash talking on the field have given him a bad boy image in Germany. In 2007, he left the Bundesliga to play for Tottenham in the U.K. for $16 million.

Michael Becker, Ballack's adviser, says it is obvious that Boateng's foul was intentional. He told reporters that Ballack is considering whether to sue Boateng for damages, which would include millions in lost sponsorships and championship bonuses.

Boateng's father calls the attacks on his son the kind of discrimination that he says has followed his son throughout his young career.

"I've seen worse fouls," Boateng senior told the B.Z., a Berlin tabloid. "It's always the same thing. Whenever Kevin does something wrong, everyone always says it was intentional. Why are they branding him like this? Kevin is always the boogeyman."

He also suggested that Boateng and Ballack have had a bitter rivalry in the past.

Boateng senior recalled an incident from one of his son's first matches as a professional soccer player. He had just scored his first goal as a professional, and during the game Ballack stepped on his foot.

"What's that about?" shouted Boateng to Ballack.

"Shut your mouth," replied Ballack. "Just because you scored a goal against Frankfurt don't think you're the greatest."

Maybe it's just the German equivalent to the kind of trash talk that is also common to American sports. For Ballack's fans, however, it's proof of motive.

Ballack is something of a tragic hero in German soccer. He grew up in the former East Germany, hailing from Karl-Marx-Stadt (today again called Chemnitz), and is perhaps the most successful East German soccer player. But his career has been plagued by injuries and bad luck. During the 2002 World Cup, he was penalized in a semifinal game for a foul and forced to sit on the bench and watch Germany lose 0-2 against Brazil in the final.

"I feel a little sorry for Ballack," wrote Bettina S. on the blog of German TV station ZDF. "Either he's always coming in second or he's injured when it's important. He's never meant to be on top."

Ballack has said little. After leaving the doctor's office on Monday, hobbling out the door on crutches with tears in his eyes, all he could muster for waiting journalists was, "It's so bitter."