MagentaTV expert Jürgen Klopp (59) ended an interview prematurely at a media event in New York surrounding the World Cup - visibly annoyed by a question he didn't want to address. As documented in a video by "Deutsche Welle", it concerned his colleague and ARD expert Bastian Schweinsteiger (41) and his controversial words about Ivory Coast's style of play. Already while a DW journalist was formulating her question, Klopp interrupted her: "And now you want to keep this topic going." The former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund coach refused to give a real answer.

The trigger was Schweinsteiger's analysis during Germany's World Cup match against Ivory Coast. As an ARD expert, the 2014 World Cup winner described the West Africans' style of play as "wild", "unorthodox" and "not quite as tactical" - and spoke generally of "African soccer". This caused discussions especially online. Schweinsteiger was accused of serving stereotypes and attributing a lower tactical understanding to African teams as a whole.

Sharp criticism also came from journalist and author Philipp Awounou. In a guest article for "Spiegel", he placed the choice of words in historical context: "Back then, Black people of African origin were stigmatized as uncivilized ('wild'), different ('unorthodox'), or potentially dangerous ('unpredictable')." Schweinsteiger is not a racist, Awounou emphasized at the same time - but his statements were "problematic".

Jürgen Klopp: "You're putting me in a bind with this"

The question to Klopp, who is working for MagentaTV at the World Cup, came amid this heated atmosphere. Evasion was not an option for him - instead, he made it clear that he didn't want to venture onto that terrain: "No, no, I have no way of answering this question in a way that pleases everyone. You're putting me in a bind with this."

He added: "It's not my job to make sure everyone is pleased, but this is a serious topic. And I don't even know what would be appropriate to say about it. For Africans it's one thing, for others it's something else. And I'm not here to say what's right."

Sarcastic exit by Jürgen Klopp

Klopp concluded with a pointed remark. He pointed to the reporter's microphone, recognized the "Deutsche Welle" logo - and sarcastically stated: "And surprisingly, you're German. That surprises me so much." With an exaggerated smile, he turned away, thanked her effusively, and ended the conversation.

Germany had prevailed 2-1 against Ivory Coast in the second group match, thereby securing the group victory in Group E ahead of schedule. The last preliminary round match is on Thursday evening against Ecuador. Kickoff in East Rutherford near New York City is at 10 p.m. (CEST).