Former Liverpool boss and Germany manager Jurgen Klopp has labelled the debate over his squad's diversity as 'idiocy' ahead of his team's match with Serbia
MUNICH, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 30: Jurgen Klopp, Head Coach of Germany looks on before a Germany Press Conference at Allianz Arena on September 30, 2026 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Jurgen Klopp has rubbished criticism from far-right politicians(Image: Alexander Hassenstein, Getty Images)
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Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has called the debate surrounding his Germany squad 'idiocy'. The 59-year-old has claimed there is no reason to pay attention to figures attempting to stoke fire over whether his team is 'German enough' or 'white enough'.
Klopp, 59, is leading Die Mannschaft for the first time since putting pen to paper on a four-year contract over the summer. The ex-Borussia Dortmund coach has seen a slow start to life in charge of Germany after drawing with the Netherlands and falling to defeat against Greece.
Sunday's loss prompted a wave of controversial attacks from far-right politicians targeting the squad for its limited number of white players. In one post, Kay Gottschalk, the deputy leader of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), reshared side-by-side images of West Germany's 1990 World Cup final squad alongside the team Klopp named to face Greece.
In the 1990 photograph, every player was white, whereas the side that took to the pitch in Augsburg contained eight non-white players. Referencing that post, Gottschalk wrote: "Character traits, certain virtues, and team spirit are cultural values that develop over centuries and are shaped by shared historical experiences."
When pressed for a response during his press conference, Klopp hit back firmly. "There is absolutely no reason to pay attention to these people," he said.
"You won't get my thoughts on this. I have little time in everyday life for idiocy – and even less on social media.
Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp has called the debate 'idiocy'(Image: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
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"The great crux of our lives is that everyone is allowed to express their opinion ... it's insane when something like that exists."
Klopp added that he believes mutual respect remains achievable. "The world could learn a thing or two from a sports changing room ... There, everyone is respected based on the facts and not discredited based on false opinions," he said.
The past decade has witnessed similar lines of criticism from the AfD. In 2016, following Germany's European Championship exit, Beatrix von Storch, the AfD's Deputy Party Leader, posted on X that "Perhaps the German NATIONAL TEAM should play again next time?".
Since taking charge of the national team, Klopp has championed 'positive patriotism' and seeks to reclaim the German flag. Speaking last month, he said: "I don't want to entrust national pride to the wrong people.
"A crazy amount of things have happened not that long ago. There was a vote which some people probably found OK, but others would have thought: 'Good heavens, what's going on here?'"
"From the perspective of someone in sport, I'd like to reclaim the flag for myself and for us. When we wave it, I don't want that someone thinks: 'What's going on with you?' I want that they think you're happy and you understand how lucky you are to be born in this wonderful country or to have moved here and live here."
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