Ivory Coast Coach Accuses Germany of Lacking Fair Play

Ivory Coast coach Emerse Faé has criticized the German squad for failing to uphold the principles of fair play following their 2-1 loss at the World Cup.

The Ivory Coast coach's discontent stems from an incident in the 80th minute of the match when defender Wilfried Singo was injured in a clash with German forward Kai Havertz, after which he kicked the ball out of bounds. According to Faé, the German team acted unsportingly by not returning the ball to their opponents after play resumed. Faé also revealed an exchange of words at halftime with opposing defender Nathaniel Brown.

“We look at these teams as role models for development, so I was a bit disappointed by Germany's lack of fair play. As for the young German defender, I simply told him to stay humble. Yes, he had a great game and plays for a very strong team. But I don't think he should speak ill of us just because the score was 1-1 and his team wanted to win. From a great footballing nation like Germany, you expect more respect and fair play. When Singo went down injured, we expected them to give us the ball back,” Faé told reporters after the match.

After two rounds of the World Cup group stage, Germany has six points and has secured a spot in the knockout rounds. Ivory Coast is second in Group E with three points.