Germany is warning its citizens in Canada to exercise “a high degree of empathy,” after the men’s hockey team beat Canada to advance to the gold-medal final at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Team Canada lost to Germany in a hard-fought semifinal match going down 4-3.
“A tough loss for us and we let our country down today. It’s a tough pill to swallow,” said Canadian defenceman Mat Robinson, who scored one of Canada’s goals.
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Shortly after Canada’s loss, the German Foreign Office, based in Berlin, tweeted a “travel warning” for Germans in Canada, urging them to “hug” a Canadian.
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“Travel advisory: Germans in Canada should exercise a high degree of empathy. Be nice, don’t gloat, give hugs, buy rounds of hot chocolate. Just imagine how you would feel if Canada beat us in soccer,” reads the tweet.
Canada returned a diplomatic tweet, to point out the fact that the Germans are playing for their first-ever Olympic hockey gold.
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“Thanks @GermanyDiplo. Congrats on your first shot at gold! We remember our first gold medal match in #IceHockey like it was yesterday… 1920 to be exact,” reads the tweet from Foreign Policy CAN.
The bronze-medal match is Saturday. Canada will face the Czech Republic.
The Germans will face the team of Olympic athletes from Russia for the gold medal on Sunday.
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Germany didn’t even qualify for the Olympics in Sochi, partly because NHL players were playing in those Games. With fewer than 10 Germans in the NHL, the absence of the NHLers in Pyeongchang has not hurt the Germans as much as most.
— with files from Leslie Young
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