German football fans' pre-match march misrepresented as anti-immigrant protest

Published on September 15, 2025 at 10:38
3 min read
By Hailey JO, AFP South Korea

A clip showing supporters of Hamburg chanting as they march to their match with city rivals St Pauli has been shared in posts falsely claiming it shows an anti-immigration march in the northern German city. The video and similar footage were previously shared ahead of the rivals' first top-flight clash in 14 years on August 29, 2025.

"Germans are awakening too. Chants of 'send them home' have begun to ring out!" reads Korean text on an Instagram video shared on August 31.

The clip shows a crowd in black clothing chanting and pumping their fists in unison as police officers stand watch.

Screenshot of the false Instagram post taken September 15, 2025, with a red cross added by AFP

The same clip spread elsewhere in similar Threads and X posts, as well as on Instagram where the footage was accompanied by text that read "Go! Home!" next to a Chinese flag.

It circulated against the background of rising anti-migrant sentiment in Germany and other European countries and after anti-China protests in South Korea (archived here, here and here).

"Right-wing forces around the world have been speaking out for years," read a comment on one of the posts.

Another said: "'China out' is a truly pleasing slogan to hear."

The circulating clip, however, does not show an anti-immigration protest in Germany.

Football fans' march

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to a similar clip shared on Facebook, with the caption: "Hamburger SV marching through the city before the derby against St. Pauli tonight" (archived link).

The Bundesliga clash between Hamburg and St Pauli -- the first top-flight derby between the sides in 14 years -- took place on August 29, with visitors St Pauli running out 2-0 winners (archived link).

A subsequent keyword search led to a video shared on August 29 on a YouTube channel linked to the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper that shows the same set of fans from a different angle (archived link).

The YouTube video shows the fans at the front holding a banner reading "Hamburg". From the 54-second mark, the fans can be heard repeating a derogatory chant aimed at St Pauli -- not "send them home".

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (top) and the Abendblatt-TV video (bottom), with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP

The footage from both clips corresponds to street level imagery of Hamburg's Max-Brauer-Allee on Apple Maps (archived link).

Screenshot comparison between the falsely shared clip (left and centre) and imagery from Apple Maps of Max-Brauer-Allee (right), with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP

Similar footage was also used by local broadcaster NDR, which reported that around 7,500 Hamburg fans took part in the pre-match march (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked other migration-related misinformation here.

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