Bavaria's Interior Minister Guenther Beckstein told the protesters waving Israeli flags and banners reading ''Viva Israel -- long live freedom'' that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was not welcome in Germany, the World Cup host country.

''A criminal like Ahmadinejad is not welcome in Germany,'' the minister told the rally in a central square of the southern host city. ''Only his diplomatic passport would prevent his arrest.'' Ahmadinejad has faced fierce criticism from Germany and around the world for questioning whether the Holocaust happened and for his calls for Israel's elimination.

Protesters at the rally, organised by Nuremberg's Israeli Cultural Society, handed out flyers reading ''Red Card for Ahmadinejad''. They said the demonstration was aimed at the Iranian government, not its people or its national team.

''Whoever is fighting against the mullahs is our friend,'' said Ali Bazkiyai, an exiled Iranian who left his home country 25 years ago.

While Jewish organisations have lobbied power brokers to ban Ahmadinejad from coming to Germany to watch matches, some German politicians, like Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, said he should be allowed to visit but would have to face frank words.

Charlotte Knobloch, elected president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, wrote in the Sunday edition of tabloid Bild that Germany should send Ahmadinejad a clear signal.

''Time to make friends' is the euphoric slogan of the World Cup,'' she wrote. ''But I find it strange and incomprehensible that a Holocaust denier should be among Germany's friends.'' Denying the Holocaust is a crime in Germany punishable by up to five years in prison.

While Iranian Sports Minister Mohammad Aliabadi watched his team play Mexico, it remained unclear whether Ahmadinejad would make his way to Germany during the tournament.

Iranian team officials have raised the prospect if the team advances to the second round of the competition.

REUTERS SI BD2302