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(LifeSiteNews) — Felix Nmecha, the star midfielder for Borussia Dortmund (BVB), sparked intense backlash from the soccer club, its fans, and the German national team (DFB) for celebrating a goal with a gesture giving the glory to Christ last weekend.

After scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over SV Elversberg on November 7, Nmecha, a non-denominational Christian, dropped to one knee, pointed toward Heaven, and mimed taking a crown off his head and placing it on the ground, giving glory to Our Lord.

The gesture, also known as the “crown down celebration,” immediately led to backlash from the BVB fan and support department; the DFB, which Nmecha also plays for; and reportedly has led Dortmund president Hans-Joachim Watzke, planning to ask the star player to stop doing the gesture.

The “crown down celebration” has drawn controversy for its association with the “King’s Return” campaign, which is run by the Ballers in God (BiG) movement to promote Christianity and advocate for the rights of Christian players to express their faith.

Felix Nmecha found the net for Germany… but his celebration said even more than the goal.

After scoring, he symbolically laid down his crown, a reminder that every gift, every victory and every moment of glory ultimately belongs to Jesus.

#TheKingsReturn https://t.co/HEjQRS0dQO

— The Kings Return (@_TheKingsReturn) June 14, 2026

In its statement responding to the celebration, the BVB fan and support department stressed that while it has no issue with Nmecha professing his faith, it is concerned with his apparent embrace of BiG’s “The King’s Return” campaign, which, according to BVB, promotes a worldview that marginalizes people based on “sexual orientation, gender identity, lifestyle, or personal decisions.”

“(W)hen it comes to our club’s values, to discrimination, and to the question of what view of humanity is fostered within and around Borussia Dortmund, we cannot and will not remain silent,” the BVB fan group wrote in its statement. “Felix Nmecha has been publicly active as a devout Christian for years and has repeatedly and visibly placed his religious faith at the center of his public persona — this is expressly not the subject of our criticism. Felix Nmecha’s public support for the ‘The King’s Return’ campaign gives us cause to reevaluate the situation.”

“We respect every person’s right to live out their faith and profess it publicly. Our criticism is directed against the denigration and exclusion of people — even when it is justified on religious grounds,” the statement continued. “Christian faith, Muslim faith, Jewish faith, atheistic beliefs, and numerous other personal worldviews all have their place in our society. Our criticism is directed at religious networks that, under the guise of faith, promote a worldview in which people are devalued or marginalized based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, lifestyle, or personal decisions.”

The BVB fan group’s statement notably claims to respect Nmecha’s Christian faith while not showing respect for the Christian teaching against same-sex “marriage” and gender ideology.

Several Biblical passages also condemn sodomy, with one notable example coming from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans (Romans 1:26-27) in which the apostle refers to homosexual activity as “against nature,” adding that the men and women who have committed these acts receive the recompense due to their error.

On gender ideology, the book of Genesis explains that God created “male and female” to “his own image,” with no mention made of so-called “transgender” individuals.

Nmecha issued a brief statement over social media responding to the controversy, noting that his intention was not hateful but was solely intended to lay “my ‘crown’ before the soon coming King and pointing to Jesus, my hope and strength!”

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha shares a message clarifying his goal celebration, “laying my crown before Jesus,” after it was misinterpreted by some as promoting hate and discrimination. https://t.co/078rV5p0Zm

— Christhlete (@christhlete) November 10, 2026

On Monday, Jürgen Klopp, DFB’s head coach, and Rudi Völler, the national club’s sporting director, met with Nmecha to discuss the controversy, in which they reportedly offered their support as long as the midfielder assured them that he did not support what they described as “misguided values.” It also has been reported that Watzke, the BVB president and DFB vice president, has indicated that the club will ask Nmecha to stop the “crown down” celebration in the future.

Nmecha, who is known as a devout Christian, is no stranger to controversy, having repeatedly faced criticism for liking Christian and conservative content on social media. In one incident last year, the midfielder stirred another controversy after he expressed support for Charlie Kirk on social media following the conservative activist’s assassination, prompting the BVB  to “internally review” the post and “seek a conversation with the professional.”

“May the Lord be with the Kirk family during this time with special grace. Jesus is the true path to peace and love,” the soccer star wrote in one post.

In another post, which has since been deleted, Nmecha wrote that Kirk had “peacefully stood up for his convictions and values, adding that “celebrating” an attack on a father and husband is “truly evil.”