Germany national football team coach Jürgen Klopp reacted with disgust to a discussion on social media questioning whether the Germany team he is currently building is “white enough.” Klopp said he saw no point in paying attention to “such people and their statements,” calling it “complete nonsense,” UNN reports, citing The Guardian.
When Klopp was asked to comment on the controversy over whether the national team was “not German enough” or “not white enough,” he said: “There is no reason to pay attention to these people. You will not hear any thoughts from me on this subject. In everyday life, I have little time for idiocy — and even less so on social media. The big problem with our lives is that everyone has the right to express their opinion... it is simply crazy that such a thing exists at all.”
Klopp said that observing athletes communicating with one another convinced him that mutual respect was still possible. “The world could learn something from the sports changing room... There, everyone is respected on the basis of real facts, rather than being discredited because of misconceptions.”
Klopp, whose plans for the Germany national team after being appointed coach in the summer attracted enormous attention, said that the players he had assembled at the national team camp — including those of migrant background — were “united as well as possible.”
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The publication notes that a wave of racist and generally offensive comments on social media emerged after Germany’s 0–1 defeat by Greece in a Nations League match last Sunday; it was the first time Greece had defeated Germany.
This also reflects numerous statements by lawmakers from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party — the largest opposition force in the Bundestag — who have repeatedly and consistently criticized the diversity and ethnic composition of the national team, often referring to the team in derogatory terms, such as a “politically correct mercenary army.”