Werder Bremen cancel US off-season tour as they don’t want to ‘play in a city where people are being shot’

Bundesliga side Werder Bremen have announced the cancelation of their tour of the US for political reasons.

The traditional giants and four time league champions were due to visit Minnesota in May with the Bundesliga pushing hard to grow their US audience.

However, the fatal shooting of two civilians by ICE immigration agents in Minneapolis has put an end to that expedition.

Bremen Managing Director Klaus Filbry said: “Two people have been shot dead by state authorities in Minnesota.

“Playing in a city currently experiencing unrest and where people are being shot doesn’t align with our club’s values. That won’t happen here.”

He also expressed further concerns over current entry requirements.

Filbry added: “It’s no longer clear which players will be allowed to enter the USA due to the stricter entry requirements, which include a review of social media profiles from the past five years.

“Furthermore, the current sporting situation makes planning difficult and also entails certain financial risks.”

Werder Bremen leave Elon Musk’s X

In November 2025 Bremen also took a stance against news in the US by leaving Elon Musk’s Twitter/X.

A statement read: “The management of SV Werder Bremen has made the decision that the Green-Whites will leave the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Klaus Filbry, Chairman of the Management Board, announced this on Monday during the general meeting.

“Since Elon Musk took over the platform, hate speech, hatred against minorities, right-wing extremist posts and conspiracy theories have increased at an incredible pace under the guise of freedom of expression. The radicalization of the platform is being driven by Elon Musk and his postings himself; he has expressed transphobic, anti-Semitic views and spread conspiracy theories, among other things.

“Almost nothing is sanctioned on the platform anymore. The algorithms and control of Platform X are completely non-transparent. In addition, Elon Musk is instrumentalizing the network as a political weapon, as was recently seen in the US election campaign.

“SV Werder Bremen clearly stands against hate and incitement, against discrimination and exclusion. The Green-Whites stand for diversity, freedom and democracy, for cohesion and solidarity in society.

“With the radicalization of the platform in recent times, a red line has been crossed for the Bundesliga club. The Green-Whites are therefore leaving X and hope that many of the more than 600,000 followers will follow the club on Bluesky in the future.”