Kevin Behrens described his homophobic comments as 'spontaneous' and said he was sorry. | Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

An international striker for Germany has said sorry after news broke about homophobic comments he made while other Bundesliga club colleagues were present.

Kevin Behrens joined VfL Wolfsburg for 2m euros earlier this year, just a few weeks after making his debut for the national team in the build-up to the European Championships.

The 33-year-old has struggled to make an impact there but his future at the club looks even more uncertain following his bad behavior at an internal event held last month.

As reported by BILD and Die Welt, Behrens was among a group of first-team players who were asked by Wolfsburg’s marketing department to autograph jerseys and other items.

One of the jerseys handed to him to sign was a special edition Pride shirt with the logo of sponsor Volkswagen in rainbow.

Wolfsburg have worn such kits for several seasons, having been one of the most proactive German soccer clubs on diversity and inclusion.

However, Behrens would not put his autograph on this particular jersey. The reports claimed: “Behrens refused to sign the jersey several times and reportedly said: “I won’t sign such gay sh*t.”

“This caused horror among the club’s employees.”

Responding to enquiries about the incident, Wolfsburg insisted in a statement that it was “immediately dealt with internally.”

The reports said that Behrens was told to explain himself to the club’s sporting director, Sebastian Schindzielorz, and that the striker “allegedly made it clear that he had no aversion to homosexuals.”

Behrens also provided a statement of his own. “My spontaneous comments were absolutely not OK. I would like to apologize for that,” he told BILD.

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Some reports on social media suggested that the player has been suspended but there has been no confirmation of that from Wolfsburg.

Writing in the Wolfsburger Allgemeine, journalist Thomas Gassman said the incident was a huge problem “for the Bundesliga club and its parent company, VW.”

Compared to most other Bundesliga clubs, Wolfsburg continue to show a strong commitment to LGBTQ inclusion, with ongoing visibility on matchdays.

Club captain Maximilian Arnold wore a Pride rainbow-colored captain’s armband in the 3-1 win at Bochum last weekend, and does so at all matches home and away.

The continuing gesture of solidarity stands in stark contrast to an incident five years ago when Croatian winger Josip Brekalo, then playing for Wolfsburg, refused to wear the armband.

There were also two separate incidents last year when Felix Nmecha, one of the club’s standout midfielders at the time, shared homophobic and transphobic posts on Instagram. Nmecha, a devout Christian, was sold to Borussia Dortmund shortly after the second incident.

As for Behrens, his contract at Wolfsburg expires next summer. He is yet to start a Bundesliga match so far this season, playing just 42 minutes across three substitute appearances.

The club’s response to his homophobia was described as “irritating” by Gassman, who added: “Fans, partners, sponsors and even VW are asking themselves: Is that it? No expulsion, no warning, no hefty fine or community service in a queer club?

“Even under the new managing director Peter Christiansen, VfL is apparently finding it difficult to take a clear stance after such incidents. This was already evident in the case of Felix Nmecha.”

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