Swedish minister supports Durmaz after online racial abuse

Sweden was due to meet Mexico in a make-or-break final Group F match on Wednesday afternoon, a game which finished in the European side's favour.

In a show of solidarity, Strandhall posted on Instagram and Facebook a photo of herself wearing a blue and yellow jersey bearing Durmaz's name and number 21, and wrote the hashtag #viarsverige ("we are Sweden"). 

 

June 27, 2018

Durmaz was born in Sweden to Assyrian parents who emigrated from Turkey.

Team-mates came quickly to the 29-year-old midfielder's defence after his Instagram account saw a storm of racial abuse and threats after his foul led to Toni Kroos's late free-kick that handed Germany a 2-1 victory on Saturday.

Swedish media also published a photo of Strandhall wearing the jersey as she took part in a parliamentary session.

On Sunday, she came out in defence of Durmaz, who plays for Toulouse, on her Instagram account.

"Getting angry and upset is fully understandable. But allowing this to turn into racial and hateful insults towards one single player is unjustifiable," Strandhall wrote.