Rudiger 'won't allow himself to be insulted' as Islamist

Antonio Rudiger opened up in an interview for 'Bild', where he explained his gesture that could have led to misinterpretations. In fact, he filed a complaint with the Berlin public prosecutor's office against journalist Julian Reichelt for linking him to the ISIS terrorist group.

"The gesture I used is called the tawheed finger. In Islam, this is considered a symbol of the unity and uniqueness of God. The gesture is widespread among Muslims all over the world and has only been classified as unproblematic by the Federal Ministry of the Interior in the last few days," he began.

The German spoke about his religion and said he will not tolerate such accusations: "As a devout Muslim, I practice my faith, but I firmly distance myself from any kind of extremism and accusations of Islamism. Violence and terrorism are absolutely unacceptable. I stand for peace and tolerance.

"However, I also recognise that due to insufficient attention, I have given third parties the opportunity to deliberately misinterpret my posting in order to divide and polarize. But I will not offer a platform for division and radicalization, which is why I have decided to make a clear statement after our two successful international matches," he continued.

"At the same time, I will not allow myself to be insulted and denigrated as an Islamist. That's why I decided to file a report. This is about propaganda and division. I will always resolutely defend myself against this," he concluded.