Jurgen Klopp stormed out of an interview after the Liverpool legend refused to answer a question following controversy regarding one of his fellow World Cup pundits
09:24, 25 Jun 2026
Jurgen Klopp looking angry in an interview
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Jurgen Klopp stormed out of an interview(Image: DW Sports)
Ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp abruptly ended an interview when questioned about the racism row involving Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The World Cup champion has been accused of making racist comments while analysing Germany's victory over the Ivory Coast. The former Manchester United and Bayern Munich star works for German broadcaster ARD.
Schweinsteiger, 41, has faced criticism for his depiction of the Ivory Coast's playing style. While evaluating the west African team, he referred to their football as "African football" before characterising it as being "a bit unorthodox sometimes, a bit wild, not quite as tactical."
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Former Germany player is seen working for SWR Fernsehen as part of the media prior to the FIFA World Cup
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Bastian Schweinsteiger has been accused of making racially insensitive comments(Image: Getty Images)
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He also suggested that Julian Nagelsmann's squad must be "prepared for it to be unpredictable at times" prior to their 2-1 win. The ex-midfielder's comments have sparked backlash and become a significant talking point in Germany.
So much so that Klopp, who is currently working as a pundit for Magenta TV in the US, was pressed by another journalist to comment on the controversy. When confronted, he promptly cut off the interview and walked away.
In conversation with DW Sports, the former Liverpool boss said: "And now you want to carry on this subject. No, no, I have no chance, I have no chance to answer this question.
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"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."
Klopp then walked away from the gathered journalists, many of whom were heard calling out "no, no" as he departed.
Phillip Awounou, a sports journalist and author from Germany, slammed Schweinsteiger's comments in a recent article. Penning his column for Spiegel news magazine, 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').
"These are racist stereotypes," sports content creator Patrick Schnitzler told his 50,000 Instagram followers, referencing recent academic research which has demonstrated that commentators and supporters are more likely to emphasise Black footballers' physical attributes than those of non-Black players.
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"We learn such stereotypes because we have grown up in a society with stereotypes. Schweinsteiger, too. You and me, too."
Awounou did make clear that he does not consider Schweinsteiger to be a racist, explaining: "That's simply wrong. Regardless of his problematic remarks, Schweinsteiger is absolutely not a racist and shouldn't be labelled as such."
After the match, Schweinsteiger took to social media, stating: "Ivory Coast were the difficult opponent we expected and showed their technical quality and physicality," shortly after Germany clinched a thrilling 2-1 victory.