Overview
- A shock home defeat to Greece prompted several Alternative for Deutschland figures to criticise Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI on social media for its racial makeup.
- AfD deputy leader Kay Gottschalk posted side‑by‑side images comparing West Germany’s all‑white 1990 World Cup team with Klopp’s recent XI and argued cultural values develop over centuries.
- At a press conference before the Nations League match with Serbia, Klopp called the accusations “complete nonsense,” said he had “little time for idiocy,” and declined to engage further with the critics.
- The criticism spread mainly on social platforms and follows recent electoral gains by the AfD that have raised the party’s profile in regional politics.
- Klopp’s longer‑term rebuild, including a 44‑player extended group to audition talent for Euro 2028, now faces the risk that routine selection choices will be used to stoke wider debates about German national identity.