Klopp Walks Away from Interview Over Schweinsteiger Racism Controversy

Jurgen Klopp has cut short an interview and stormed off after being pressed about the racism furore surrounding Bastian Schweinsteiger's analysis of Germany's victory over Ivory Coast.

The former Bayern Munich and Manchester United midfielder found himself at the centre of a firestorm in his homeland after describing the Ivorians' style as "African football" during commentary on the 2-1 win. Schweinsteiger went on to characterise their approach as "a bit unorthodox sometimes, a bit wild, not quite as tactical," suggesting Julian Nagelsmann's side needed preparation for their "unpredictable" nature.

The remarks have triggered considerable backlash across Germany, prompting a journalist to raise the matter with Klopp whilst he was working as a pundit for Magenta TV in the United States. The Liverpool icon immediately terminated the conversation and walked away, before signalling his irritation when the subject resurfaced.

Speaking to DW Sports, Klopp made his displeasure evident: "And now you want to carry on this subject. No, no, I have no chance, 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 this is a serious subject. 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. Thank god I thought nobody asked me about that. You found a moment and surprisingly you are German. That surprised me so much. Thank you very much."

The former Dortmund manager then departed from the assembled media pack, with journalists audibly protesting as he left.

In the aftermath of Germany's triumph, Schweinsteiger posted on social media: "Ivory Coast were the difficult opponent we expected and showed their technical quality and physicality."

Phillip Awounou, a German sports journalist writing for Spiegel, has scrutinised the midfielder's language, arguing that terminology such as "wild" and "unpredictable" carries troubling historical baggage. He wrote: "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 stigmatised as uncivilised ('wild'), different ('unorthodox') and potentially dangerous ('unpredictable')."

However, Awounou was careful to distinguish between problematic phrasing and character assassination, stating: "That's simply wrong. Regardless of his problematic remarks, Schweinsteiger is absolutely not a racist and shouldn't be labelled as such."