Emerse Fae, the Ivory Coast manager, has described comments from former Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger as potentially racist, after Schweinsteiger characterised his team's playing style as “wild” and “a bit African football”.
Schweinsteiger, commentating on German broadcaster ARD before Germany’s 2-1 win over Ivory Coast on June 20, said the Elephants were “a bit unorthodox, a bit wild, a bit perhaps also not so conditioned by tactics” and warned Germany must be “prepared for it to be unpredictable”.
“Ivory Coast manager Emerse Fae calls Bastian Schweinsteiger's 'wild' football comments potentially racist.”
Fae, speaking after Ivory Coast’s 2-0 victory over Curacao in Philadelphia on Thursday — a result that secured second place in Group E and qualification for the World Cup knockouts for the first time in the nation’s history — did not hold back. “I think it’s sad,” he said. “Schweinsteiger was a very good player; I have always loved him as a midfielder and the way he understood football. When I heard his comments, I was disappointed in the man.”
“It is odd he would speak that way. We could call it racist, if we were calling a spade a spade.” Fae suggested the remarks were rooted in long-standing prejudices about African football, adding: “I don’t agree with him, but I have no other solution other than to work with things as they are. All I can show is that on the pitch African teams are not just physical, we are technical and tactical.”
The Ivorian manager went on to say he could “only hope it is a clumsy statement, rather than something going on in his mind”, and implied Schweinsteiger was courting controversy for attention. The comments have already sparked debate in German media, with former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp refusing to engage. Asked about the subject in New York on Wednesday, Klopp said: “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. … For African people it’s one thing, for other people it’s another thing, and I’m not here.”
Despite the loss to Germany, Ivory Coast’s win over Curacao ensured their place in the last 32 of the expanded 48-team tournament, a milestone Fae hopes will begin to change perceptions of African football on the global stage.