A German politician has resigned after he posted a picture online of a sex doll with a noose around its neck and Nazi logo on its head.
The shocking picture was posted by Bulent Buyukbayram into a private Facebook group and featured the doll wearing a FC St Pauli football shirt.
It also had ScheiSS (s***) St. Pauli scribbled on the dolls head with the letters S shaped like the lightning logo of the SS, the infamous Nazi paramilitary force.
Mr Buyukbayram, a local politician from the centre-right Christian Democrats Union (CDU), has since apologised for the post and has stepped down from his local government role in the city of Delmenhorst.
Speaking to the German newspaper Bild, he said: It was a stupidity, a mistake. I am getting serious threats. I have apologised to St Pauli.
The shocking picture was posted by Bulent Buyukbayram into a private Facebook group and featured the doll wearing a St Pauli football shirt. It also had ScheiSS (s***) St. Pauli scribbled on the dolls head with the letters S shaped like the logo of the SS
St Pauli supporters in October 2024. It is understood that Mr Buyukbayram is an ardent supporter of Atlas Delmenhorst. He is also allegedly belongs to the teams Block H fan group which are said to have links to right-wing extremism and often clash with the left wing ultras from St Pauli
Mr Buyukbayrams local CDU party has distanced itself from his comments.
St Pauli - a football team based in Hamburg known for its alternative fan scene and left-wing supporter base - have said they are considering legal action.
Oke Gottlich, the president of St Pauli, said: We are examining legal steps for all possible criminal offences, but we also assume that the use of SS letters will be prosecuted anyway.
It is understood that Mr Buyukbayram is an ardent supporter of Atlas Delmenhorst - a lower league German team currently playing in the Regional League North.
He is also allegedly belongs to the teams Block H fan group which are said to have links to right-wing extremism and often clash with the left wing ultras from St Pauli.
St Pauli were promoted to Germanys top-tier domestic football league - the Bundesliga - ahead of this season, and currently sit 16th in the league table.
They are active with social projects within Hamburg and are known for their support for refugees and minorities and projects such as installing beehives in their stadium roof to raise environmental awareness.
The political scandal comes as the national German government faces a growing political crisis following the collapse of chancellor Olaf Scholzs governing coalition last week.
Mr Scholz had been the head of a so-called traffic light coalition - which included his Social Democratic Party (SPD) , the Greens and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) - since 2021.
Chancellor Scholz with Mr Linder in the German parliament. The quarrelsome government has stumbled from disagreement to disagreement with Mr Linder and Mr Scholz often at loggerheads over how to tackle Germany s economic woes
German chancellor Olaf Scholz cited persistent disagreements with finance minister Christian Linder for the breakdown of his centre-left coalition
However, the quarrelsome government has stumbled from disagreement to disagreement ever since then with Mr Scholz and his finance minister, FDP leader Christian Linder, often at loggerheads over how to tackle Germanys economic woes.
Mr Scholz now heads a minority government with the Greens and faces growing calls to bring forward a no confidence vote currently set to take place in January.
The chancellor said yesterday he could be willing to call a vote of confidence in parliament before Christmas, a move that would pave the way for snap elections.
This snap election which would likely be bruising for the former coalition partners and could see the CDU back in power nearly four years after they were booted out of office.
Scholzs SPD are currently polling third behind the CDU and the right-wing populist AfD. Meanwhile, the FDP are polling at below the five per cent threshold to even enter parliament.