Since the world cup is on and Nazi puns are all the rage on social media, it inspired a real question in my head, particularly when I read that Germany played Austria in the 1954 world cup and won 6-1 (the previous record for most lopsided victory in a world cup semi final before today). It kind of surprised me reading that Germany was playing in an international competition so soon after world war 2/the holocaust. I was just curious if in the time period immediately following the war if there are any instances of Germany being banned from competitions or teams refusing to play Germany or Germany keeping themselves out of competitions to save face.
Yes, both Germany and Japan were banned from the first World Cup (1950 in Brazil) and the first Olympics (1948 in London) after the war had ended. They were both still under Allied occupation at the time. The East German football federation hadn't been formed by 1950 to attempt to qualify for the World Cup even if they could have. Italy and other Axis allies weren't banned from either competition.