Werder Bremen, a top German soccer team, is canceling its planned trip to Minnesota this summer, after violence and political chaos engulfed Minneapolis amid the Trump administration’s major immigration enforcement push in January.

“Playing in a city where there’s unrest and people have been shot, that does not fit with our values here at Werder Bremen,” Christoph Pieper, the club’s head of communications, said in a statement. “Furthermore, it was unclear for us which players could be able to enter the United States due to the stricter entry requirements.”

The administration sent roughly 3,000 federal immigration agents to Minneapolis beginning in December, in a deportation effort dubbed Operation Metro Surge. Agents killed two protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in separate incidents last month as demonstrations spread throughout the city.

And while White House border czar Tom Homan announced the White House was ending its surge in Minnesota last week, Werder Bremen’s cancellation is far from the only economic fallout of the surge. Minneapolis city leaders announced last Friday that the operation had resulted in a more than $200 million financial impact.

Werder Bremen, one of the founding members of the Bundesliga and a winner of four German championships, has a reputation as one of the most progressive clubs in Europe. The club left X for Bluesky in 2024 due to „hate speech, hatred towards minorities, right-wing extremist posts and conspiracy theories” that had „been allowed to spread on X at an incredible pace,” it said in a statement at the time.

“We as a club, we have clear values,“ Pieper said Friday. “Our club stands for an open, pluralistic and united society. We are committed to ensuring that all people — regardless of their origin, skin colour, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability — are naturally included and have a firm place in our community.”

The global soccer community has largely been kind to President Donald Trump since his return to the White House last year. The U.S. — alongside Canada and Mexico — is playing host to the quadrennial FIFA World Cup this summer. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has worked to court Trump’s favor, presenting him with a new FIFA Peace Prize in December and pledging millions for the White House’s Board of Peace initiative this week.

Werder Bremen is in the midst of a difficult season in the Bundesliga, languishing in 16th place in the league table with just four wins in the first 22 games of this year’s campaign. But just last year, the team finished in the league’s top 10 — with a 51-point effort keyed by 10 goals from Danish striker Jens Stage.

Forrás