“Taken out of context”
Klinsmann defends controversial Iran statements
11/28/2022, 5:29 p.m
In the 2-0 win over Wales, BBC expert Jürgen Klinsmann identified an allegedly unclean style of play among the Iranians. His questionable analysis at the Qatar World Cup caused criticism, the world champion from 1990 justified himself.
After severe criticism, Jürgen Klinsmann has again justified his comments about the Iranian national soccer team. “My comments on the Wales vs Iran game were solely related to football,” wrote the 1990 world champion on Twitter: “Unfortunately, this was taken out of the context of football. I have many Iranian friends and have always been full of praise for the people, theirs culture and their history. I wish them all the best for the tournament.”
The Iranian national coach Carlos Queiroz, like the Iranian association FFIRI, had previously asked the ex-national coach to resign from the Technical Study Group (TSG) of the world association FIFA and demanded an apology.
Klinsmann had criticized Iran’s allegedly unclean style of play in the 2-0 win against Wales on the BBC. “It’s part of their culture and the way they play, they handled the referee perfectly. The bench kept jumping up and complaining to the linesman and the fourth official. They bug you all the time,” said Klinsmann. “It’s their culture. They make you lose focus.” Klinsmann had also questioned Queiroz’s qualities.
As early as Sunday, the 58-year-old was ready to talk and announced an attempt to “calm things down”. Klinsmann expressed that he “never” criticized Queiroz or “the Iranian bank,” but only described their “emotional behavior, which is even admirable in a way.”