Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Fae has strongly criticised former Bayern Munich and Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger for comments the 2014 World Cup-winner made last weekend, describing them as “racist”.
Schweinsteiger, who also played for Manchester United and Chicago Fire during a hugely successful career, was working on German broadcaster ARD’s coverage of Germany vs. Ivory Coast when he said, “African football … (is) a bit wild, a bit unorthodox and perhaps not so conditioned by tactics”.
These remarks have already been criticised in Germany and by the UK-based anti-discrimination group Kick It Out.
But nobody from within the Ivory Coast camp had responded to Schweinsteiger’s comments until Fae spoke to the media following his side’s 2-0 win over Curacao in Philadelphia on Thursday.
“I think it’s sad,” the 42-year-old Fae said.
“He was a very good player, a great player. I’ve always loved him personally. As a midfielder myself, I always liked the way he played and how he understood the game. So much so, in fact, that a friend who used to train with me knew how much I liked him and would call me ‘Bastian’.
“So when I heard this comment, I was disappointed. Disappointed in the man. When you know football as well as he does, it’s odd that he would speak in a way that we could call racist, if we’re calling a spade a spade.”
The Athletic approached Schweinsteiger for comment earlier on Thursday and did so again after Fae’s press conference.
Germany beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in Toronto last Saturday, but needed two late goals from substitute Deniz Undav to do so, the second coming in the 94th minute.
Having already beaten Ecuador 1-0, Ivory Coast sealed qualification for the World Cup’s knockout rounds for the first time in their history with the win over Curacao.
“(Schweinsteiger) must know that African football isn’t just physical,” continued Fae, who led Ivory Coast to the AFCON title in 2023.
“It’s very technical, very tactical. All I can hope is that these comments were clumsy and don’t reflect what is in mind.
“But we also know that there are lots of former players who become pundits and they’re all looking to create some controversy. He was a worldwide star and maybe he was thinking that people have forgotten him. I don’t know but we’ll move forward and try to forget what he said.”
The former Germany international has not made any comment on ARD to explain himself further but when Jurgen Klopp was asked about it by a rival German broadcaster on Wednesday, the former Liverpool boss refused to get into the debate and ended the interview.
While Ivory Coast won their third game, Germany were beaten 2-1 by Ecuador. The four-time World Cup winners still topped Group E, though, thanks to their superior goal difference.
Ivory Coast will now play whoever finishes second in Group I, France or Norway, who play each other on Friday.
