Swedish athletes from ethnic minority backgrounds have increasingly reported experiences ofeveryday racism and discrimination in sport, with a recurring theme being the questioning oftheir national identity and authentic ‘Swedish-ness’. These experiences reflect broader patternsof right-wing populism and anti-immigration sentiment in contemporary Sweden, which increasinglypermeate sporting contexts. Through qualitative news frame analysis, this article examinesthe case of Jimmy Durmaz following Sweden’s 2018 FIFA World Cup match against Germany.Post-match, Durmaz received an avalanche of online abuse targeting his ethnic origin and questioninghis legitimacy to represent Sweden. This incident prompted a national outcry against racismand xenophobia, with print media and the national team mounting a unified anti-racist response.Drawing on the theoretical framework of civic and ethnic nationalism, we demonstrate how theDurmaz case reveals the conditional and performative nature of multicultural acceptance inSwedish sport, where athletes’ belonging becomes contingent upon sporting success and conformityto civic ideals. The analysis shows how sporting disappointment, occurring amidst increasinglynormalised anti-immigration discourse, activated latent ethnic nationalist anxieties that questionedDurmaz’s authentic ‘Swedish-ness’ despite his birth in Sweden and long-standing national teamcontributions. The swift civic nationalist counter-mobilisation by teammates, media, and politicalleaders illustrates ongoing tensions between competing conceptions of nationhood in contemporarySweden. While contemporary Swedish society shows few signs of declining anti-immigrationsentiment in either youth or adult sport, the nationwide unified response to such attitudesdemonstrates possibilities for collective cultural resistance against exclusionary nationalism. Thiscase illuminates how sporting events can serve as both catalysts for xenophobic backlash and sites of anti-racist solidarity, reflecting broader tensions over national identity and belonging incontemporary European societies. © The Author(s) 2025.