• DFB rejects vice-president Göttlich’s plea to make stand

• ‘Our goal is to strengthen this force – not to prevent it’

Germany’s football federation, the DFB, has ruled out a boycott of the World Cup despite calls from within to send a message to the US president Donald Trump.

“We believe in the unifying power of sport and the global impact that a Fifa World Cup can have,” the DFB said in a statement. “Our goal is to strengthen this positive force – not to prevent it.”