This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

He may have once come on as a sub for Germany in a Monty Python sketch, but citizens of Chemnitz have decided that Karl Marx should not support his home country during the World Cup.

As part of a publicity campaign for the city, once known as Karl-Marx-Stadt, an advertising agency on Thursday dressed up the philosopher's colossal monument in Chemnitz as a Germany supporter, fitting him with a replica shirt and painting his cheeks with red, black and gold streaks of paint.

A banner hung around his neck echoed the communist slogan "Workers of the world, unite!" with the words "Football fans of the world, welcome!"

But some locals felt strongly that Marx the internationalist would have dismissed the World Cup as an opiate of the people. By Friday morning, the banner and the shirt had been removed from the monument, designed in 1971 by the Soviet sculptor Lew Kerbel.

The agency responsible for the campaign said an anonymous group had announced the removal via their website.