The UEFA Euro League and the German authorities have banned the song "L'amour Toujours" by Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino — which recently became associated with neo-Nazi movements —from being played, yet it has still captured the attention of many soccer fans in the event over the past two weeks.
The phrase "L'amour Toujours" means "love forever" in French. Ironically, the song — in its new rendition — has been turned into an anthem for xenophobia. The song, originally released in the early 2000s, has gained traction among far-right groups, and even young Germans have started chanting to the opening music: "Auslander raus, Deutschland den Deutschen," (Foreigners out, Germany for the Germans.)
At a party held in northern Germany last month, one of the revelers gave a Nazi salute as the song was playing. The video went viral, prompting the German authorities to take the matter seriously. Three weeks ago Bavarian police arrested two men, aged 21 and 26, for singing the song in its neo-Nazi rendition during a festival. They were removed from the event and fined.
The UEFA Euro League now faces a problem as videos posted on social media showed Hungarian fans singing the song during a march before the match against Germany, and Polish and Austrian fans singing it together before the meeting between their two teams. The Italian fans went further, humming the song from the 54th minute of the match against Spain.
The German government has officially requested X (formerly Twitter) to block all the mentioned videos. "We won’t tolerate xenophobia," an official statement read. The song itself originally has no racist context. The creator, Gigi D'Agostino, said recently, "My song is about a wonderful feeling that unites people; it's the power of love that makes us celebrate. This is the only meaning the song has."