Borussia Dortmund asks Felix Nmecha to drop controversial goal celebration, Digi Mart USA News: Borussia Dortmund wants midfielder Felix Nmecha to stop using his controversial goal celebration, according to information obtained by WDR. The club also plans to ask the evangelical network “Ballers in God” to stop prominently promoting the Germany international, club president Hans-Joachim Watzke reportedly said at a members’ meeting of the club’s fan and support department on Monday evening.
On WDR’s request, the club declined to comment further on the matter. It had already addressed the topic extensively on Sunday, saying it asked for understanding that it would not respond to further inquiries on the issue for now.
The fan and support department had caused a stir on Sunday with a statement criticizing Nmecha and “Ballers in God” (BiG). It said the network promotes a worldview in which people are devalued or excluded because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, way of life or personal decisions.
Nmecha scored twice in Saturday’s Bundesliga match against SV Elversberg and then again placed a symbolic crown on the pitch, a gesture tied to the “Ballers in God” campaign “The King’s Return.” Research by the ARD magazine “Monitor” over the summer found that the campaign’s chats described abortion as “Satan’s plan” and affirmed that being lesbian is a sin. Nmecha had shown the gesture several times in recent months without drawing debate until the department’s statement.
Following the statement, the management of the limited partnership KGaA, which was spun off from BVB e.V., with spokesman Carsten Cramer, and the German Football Association (DFB) both announced they would hold talks with Nmecha. The intention behind those talks was left open.
According to WDR, Watzke, who was elected club president in November 2025 after roughly two decades as head of the KGaA, largely agreed with the criticism from the fan and support department. He reportedly also stressed that Nmecha has behaved correctly and respectfully since joining from VfL Wolfsburg in 2023, but that the celebration and especially its use of the symbolism bothered him, as it did many fans.
Nmecha responded in an Instagram story, saying he had learned his celebration had led to “some misunderstandings.” He said it was not his intention to spread his faith or support “any organization,” and that he had never promoted “intolerance, discrimination or any form of hatred.”
The “Ballers in God” network, which has nearly 800,000 followers on Instagram, regularly posts photos of prominent footballers symbolically laying down crowns, and Nmecha appears there repeatedly. His celebration became widely known at the 2026 World Cup after a goal against Curaçao, when he prayed in the center circle with a teammate and some opponents.
After a goal against Elversberg last Saturday, he celebrated with teammates Fabio Silva, Carney Chukwuemeka and Konstantinos Karetsas, which the network shared in a reel.
The network was founded in 2015 by former professional footballer John Bostock, whom Nmecha once described as his mentor. Research by various media outlets has documented discriminatory views within the network, which also aims to proselytize prominent footballers.
Nmecha’s relationship with “Ballers in God” could also become a topic at Borussia Dortmund’s members’ meeting on November 22, when the full club membership meets.
