'Goodbye!' German team FC Cologne give red card to supporter who canceled membership because of mosque design on kit

FC Cologne have hit out at a supporter who contacted the club to complain about the German side featuring a mosque in the design of their new kit - by adopting his suggestion to have the team play in pink jerseys next year.

As the club revealed on social media, they were contacted by a fan of the club who was angry that the club's jerseys featured the image of a silhouetted mosque as well as the Cologne cathedral. 

"Today I have come to the realization that FC will be playing in kits that have a mosque on them," the unidentified fan said via the team's Twitter account. 

"Due to the fact that I can’t identify with Muslims and mosques, I am now making known my exit from the religious organization. I suspect we will play in pink next season, and then the open world is perfect."

And, according to an official communiqué from the club, they say that they might actually take up their former fan's suggestion.  

"We received notice from a member who wanted to cancel their membership due to the mosque on our kit," the club wrote in response alongside a picture of a prospective pink FC Cologne jersey. "To that, we say: goodbye and thanks for the idea!"

Germany has the second largest Muslim population in Europe, behind France, with around 4.7 million living within the country's borders - around 3 million of them being of Turkish origin. 

Recent estimates suggest that around 11 percent of Cologne's population in Muslim, and the city houses the largest Mosque in Germany – and one of the largest in all of Europe – which was opened by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2018.