PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥� Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fa茅 slammed what he considered were racist comments made about his team by former Germany player Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Schweinsteiger made on German broadcaster ARD before Germany played Ivory Coast last weekend, when he spoke about what the German players could expect from their opponents.
鈥淎 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,鈥� Schweinsteiger said.
Fa茅 led Ivory Coast into the World Cup knockout round for the first time in national team history with a over Cura莽ao on Thursday.
Fa茅 said after the win he hoped Schweinsteiger had made a 鈥渃lumsy statement that’s not necessarily reflective of what’s in his life.鈥�
鈥淲e could call it racist, if we were calling a spade a spade,鈥� Fa茅 said.
Schweinsteiger鈥檚 comments were criticized earlier this week as playing into racist stereotypes.
Sports commentator Patrick Schnitzler wrote on of 鈥渞acist prejudices that we are all passing on unnoticed,鈥� and journalist Philipp Awounou, who鈥檚 Black, wrote in magazine that the characterizations played on old racist tropes rooted in colonialism. Awounou said he did not think Schweinsteiger is racist.
Fa茅 said the West African team uses smarts and strategy to win just as much as physical toughness to advance this far in the World Cup. He questioned if Schweinsteiger was trying 鈥渢o create a buzz鈥� in his broadcast career by leaning on outdated racial tropes.
鈥淲hen I heard his comment, I was disappointed,鈥� Fa茅 said. 鈥淒isappointed in the man. It is odd he would speak that way.”
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