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Sami Khedira donates 1,200 tickets to charity for Germany's World Cup qualifier against Norway

The tickets are being given to children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who suffer from cancer

Evan Bartlett
Monday 04 September 2017 16:08 BST
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The qualifier is being held in Sami Khedira's native Stuttgart
The qualifier is being held in Sami Khedira's native Stuttgart (Bongarts/Getty Images)

Sami Khedira has bought 1,200 tickets for Germany’s World Cup qualifier against Norway in his native Stuttgart and donated them to a network of charities.

The tickets are being given to children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who suffer from cancer.

“For me personally, it was important not just to give money, but that the kids themselves could get something from it,” the Juventus and Germany midfielder said.

“Most wouldn't have had the chance to attend a game for various reasons, financial or logistical."

Khedira is not the only German player to show his philanthropic side in recent weeks.

Bayern Munich defender Mats Hummels became the first high-profile player to join Juan Mata’s “Common Goal” initiative which will see him donate 1 per cent of his salary to charity.

Germany will qualify for the World Cup from Group C if they win and second-place Northern Ireland fail to beat the Czech Republic in Belfast.

The build-up to the match in Stuttgart has been overshadowed by Nazi-era chanting during the country’s previous game against the Czech Republic.

Germany manager Joachim Low said he was “full of shame” at the songs and that those involved “bring shame on our country”.

"I am not so much upset or sad as I am full of rage, I think that describes my feelings better," he said.

"I am really very angry about what happened, that some so-called fans used the stage of an international football match to bring shame on our country with their extremely embarrassing appearance and behaviour.”

Low added that he would like to see any fans involved in the chanting banned from Germany games.

“I think every one of those people who is prevented from getting into the stadium is a win,” he said.

"I am absolutely on the side of those demanding tough sanctions, because a stadium should be somewhere you enjoy going, where everybody can go and where despite all the rivalry and all the chanting, everything proceeds at a certain level.

"We don't want these anarchists, we are not their national team and the behaviour of some of the fans in Prague was the lowest of the low and deeply despicable."

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