This was “in no way understandable” said Christopher Burger, deputy spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry, said Friday in Berlin.

The Charge d’Affaires of the German Embassy in Budapest also made this clear during a conversation in the Hungarian Foreign Ministry on Thursday, saying: “We clearly reject the allusion to National Socialism in particular.”

Petry gave an interview to the Hungarian paper Magyar Nemzet on Monday in which he made questionable statements on the subject of immigration and criticized Hungarian goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi of RB Leipzig for playing in a club that, among other things, supports gay marriage.

The Hungarian Foreign Ministry had criticized Hertha for firing Petry saying they should have permitted freedom of expression. Germany and Hungary, it said, had “direct historical experience with the greatest possible terror of opinion … which is why monitoring the fundamental right to freedom of speech is our common moral duty.

“Regardless of the ideological basis, the restriction of expression is unacceptable for Hungarians because it conjures up a system against which thousands of our compatriots have sacrificed their lives.”

Petry defended himself saying “I would like to emphasize that I’m neither homophobic nor xenophobic. I very much regret my statement on immigration policy and would like to apologize to all the people who are seeking refuge with us and whom I have offended.”

His statements, said Hertha chief executive Carsten Schmidt, were “not in line with the values of Hertha Berlin as a whole,” and he was released from the club where he had worked since 2015.