Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany has followed up on his statement on racism in football that unexpectedly went viral yesterday. Kompany displayed visible signs of discomfort answering in German during a post-match press conference following Bayern’s Bundesliga victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. Eventually, the former Belgian international had to switch to English.
“What I said wasn’t something I discussed beforehand with other people,” Kompany said upon fielding the first question about his previous statement at the pre-match press conference. “It was a totally spontaneous moment and I didn’t really follow [the reaction]. It related to feelings that I’ve often had and will certainly have in the future.
“I don’t think it serves any of us if I keep talking about it over the next days,” Kompany continued. “I said everything I needed to say in this moment. And I hope that doors [to dialogue] remain open, so that….it’s difficult to discuss this topic in German. I just hope that doors [to dialogue] remain open so that we can all grow and not just argue.
“It was something that I spoke about from the heart,” Kompany went on, uncertain as to whether he wished to use the German word “Kampf” (“fight”) or the similar sounding English word “camp”. “In the final analysis, I don’t want it to be about people [separating] into camps and defending the camp.“
“I don’t want that one camp is strengthened by this,” Kompany continued upon switching languages mid-sentence. “I would like to see us come together through something like this, if that makes sense. That’s my hope for the future. I don’t want to continue adding to this.
“All of this needs some breathing space in order to allow us to come together,” Kompany concluded.
