Ivory Coast manager Fae calls Schweinsteiger's 'wild African football' remarks racist

Ivory Coast manager Emerse Fae has publicly condemned Bastian Schweinsteiger, calling the former Germany captain’s pre-match characterisation of his team’s style as “a bit African football, a bit wild” an example of racism, following Ivory Coast’s 2-0 win over Curacao that secured their place in the Copa América round of 32.

Schweinsteiger made the remarks on German broadcaster ARD before Germany faced Ivory Coast in their Group E fixture last weekend, telling viewers to expect something “a bit unorthodox, a bit wild, a bit perhaps also not so conditioned by tactics” and warning Germany’s players to be “prepared for the unpredictable”.

Fae, speaking after the Curacao victory, said the comments left him deeply disappointed in a player he had long admired. “Schweinsteiger was a very good player; I have always loved him as a midfielder and the way he understood football,” Fae said. “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.”

The Ivory Coast head coach was careful to leave room for the possibility of a misjudgement rather than malice. “I can only hope it is a clumsy statement, rather than something going on in his mind. If that’s what he thinks, he is free to do so,” he added. “All I can show is that on the pitch African teams are not just physical, we are technical and tactical.”

The controversy also drew in former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, who declined to comment when German media pressed him on the subject during an appearance in New York. “This is a serious subject, and I don’t even know what is appropriate to say,” Klopp told reporters. “For African people it’s one thing, for other people it’s another thing, and I’m not here.”

Despite losing their group match to Germany — decided by a late Deniz Undav winner — Ivory Coast finished as Group E runners-up and will face either France or Norway in the round of 32 on 30 June in Arlington, Texas.