Jurgen Klopp stormed out of an interview at the World Cup after being asked about Bastian Schweinsteiger’s controversial remarks on Ivory Coast.
Schweinsteiger, 41, has been accused of racial stereotyping after he said the Ivorians played ‘African football’, which he described as ‘a bit unorthodox sometimes, a bit wild, not quite as tactical’, when working as a pundit for ARD during Germany’s 2-1 win on Saturday.
The former Bayern Munich and Manchester United star’s comments have sparked debate across the country and a journalist for DW asked ex-Liverpool boss Klopp, 59, for his thoughts.
A visibly frustrated Klopp interjected before the reporter could finish the question and refused to be drawn on the row.
‘And now you want to carry on this subject,’ Klopp said. ‘No, no – I have no chance to answer this question.
‘Everybody likes it, so you bring me into this situation. It’s not my job that everybody likes it but it is a serious subject and I don’t even know what is appropriate to say.
Bastian Schweinsteiger has sparked controversy with his remarks about Ivory Coast
‘For African people it’s one thing, for other people it’s another thing, and I’m not here.
‘Thank God I thought nobody asked me about that but you found a moment and surprisingly you are German. That surprised me so much.’
Klopp, Red Bull’s global head of soccer who is working as a pundit at the World Cup, then thanked the reporters who had gathered before abruptly walking off.
Schweinsteiger’s remarks were met with criticism on social media and by commentators in Germany.
Philipp Awounou, a Black German journalist and author, told Der Spiegel: ‘Behind attributions like ‘wild’ and ‘unpredictable’ are stereotypes which are older than football and which have racist, colonial roots.
‘In the past, Black people of African heritage were stigmatized as uncivilised (‘wild’), different (‘unorthodox’) and potentially dangerous (‘unpredictable’).’
Awounou also insisted Schweinsteiger was not a racist while describing his comments as ‘problematic’.
German content creator Patrick Schnitzler said Schweinsteiger, a member of the World Cup winning team in 2014 and capped 120 times by his country, had been guilty of ‘racial stereotypes’.
Germany came from behind to beat Ivory Coast in Group E at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The victory guaranteed them top spot in the group before their last match against Ecuador on Thursday.
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