(JTA) — Bayern Munich apologized to anyone who saw Holocaust imagery in a graphic the German soccer club posted on Twitter.
Replying to the original tweet hours after posting it Wednesday, Bayern said it had not meant to “hurt feelings” and was only trying to promote its match later that day against Juventus.
.@FCBayernEN pic.twitter.com/G9mb1JMLzw
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) March 16, 2016
The graphic shows train tracks running toward Munich’s Allianz Arena. A crossed-out sign above the tracks reads, “Fino alla fine” – Juventus’ motto, which means “Until the end” in Italian.
“It’s an all-or-nothing game,” says skipper @philipplahm. We’re ready. It’s #UCL MATCHDAY! #FCBJuve #packmas pic.twitter.com/R63tfMs2UP
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) March 16, 2016
The graphic, which has not been taken down, drew comparisons on social media to images of the railroad tracks leading to Auschwitz, where almost a million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.
Bayern said the sign refers to the fact that the losing team will be knocked out of contention for the Champion League title. The German club went on to win the match, 4-2, and advance to the quarterfinals.
The vice president of Rome’s Jewish community, Ruben Della Rocca, told the Italian newspaper Tuttosport the graphic was “a great faux-pas, which shouldn’t have happened to a club like FC Bayern.” But Della Rocca said he believed it had been a mistake rather than a deliberate attempt to offend.
