Klopp walks out of interview after Schweinsteiger's 'African football' remarks spark racism row at World Cup
Jürgen Klopp refused to answer questions about Bastian Schweinsteiger's description of Ivory Coast's playing style as 'African football, wild, and unorthodox', walking away from a Deutsche Welle interview. Ivory Coast manager Emerse Fae later called the remarks sad and possibly racist.
Schweinsteiger's pre-match analysis
Before Germany's Group E match against Ivory Coast in Toronto, ARD pundit Bastian Schweinsteiger described the Ivorian team's style as "a bit African football, a bit unorthodox, a bit wild, a bit perhaps also not so conditioned by tactics." He added that Germany should "be prepared for it to be unpredictable." The comments, made on German public television, immediately drew criticism for perpetuating racial stereotypes.
A bit African football, a bit unorthodox, a bit wild, a bit perhaps also not so conditioned by tactics. We have to be prepared for it to be unpredictable.
Germany won the match 2-1 after coming from behind, with Denis Undav scoring twice. Ivory Coast had taken the lead through Franck Kessie.
Klopp refuses to engage
On Wednesday in New York, former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, now a pundit for Magenta, was asked by a Deutsche Welle journalist about Schweinsteiger's remarks. Klopp immediately cut the question short, saying he had "no chance" to answer and that the subject was too serious for a casual response. He expressed surprise that a German reporter would raise the issue, then walked away from the huddle.
Now you want to carry on the subject. No, no, I have no chance. I have no chance to answer this question. Everybody likes it so you bring me in this situation. It's not my job that everybody likes it, but this is a serious subject, and I don't even know what is appropriate to say. For African people it's one thing, for other people it's another thing, and I'm not here.
Klopp added with irony that he had hoped to avoid the topic: "Thank God, I thought, nobody asked me about that. You found a moment. And surprisingly, you are German. That surprised me so much."
Fae calls comments 'sad' and possibly racist
After Ivory Coast secured their first-ever World Cup knockout stage berth with a 2-0 win over Curacao in Philadelphia on Thursday, manager Emerse Fae addressed Schweinsteiger's words. He said he was disappointed and suggested the remarks reflected long-standing biases about African football.
I think it's sad. We could call it racist.
Fae's reaction came as his team celebrated a historic achievement, adding a layer of poignancy to the controversy.
German media debate colonial stereotypes
In Germany, the comments sparked a broader discussion. Journalist Philipp Awounou wrote in Der Spiegel that terms like "wild" and "unpredictable" carry "racist, colonial roots," noting that black people of African heritage have historically been stigmatised as uncivilised or dangerous. He stressed, however, that he does not believe Schweinsteiger is racist. Content creator Patrick Schnitzler cited academic studies showing that commentators more often highlight physical attributes of black players than those of non-black players.
Behind qualifiers like 'wild' or 'unpredictable' lie stereotypes much older than football, rooted in colonial history and racism.
Schweinsteiger has not issued a public apology, and ARD has not removed him from its coverage. The incident has reignited debate about language in sports broadcasting and the responsibility of public figures when describing teams from different cultural backgrounds.
