Ahead of their game against Iran, USMNT Coach Gregg Berhalter and Tyler Adams fielded questions fueled by a controversy created by their own governing body.
Blowback was fierce in some international circles and there were calls in Iran for FIFA to punish the United States. When Berhalter and Adams appeared at a tense news conference Monday, they were forced to answer — uncomfortably at times — a series of questions from mostly Iranian reporters that weren’t focused on soccer.Berhalter said the coaching staff and players had no advance knowledge of the USSF’s plans to alter the flag.
Adams, who is Black, was questioned about representing a country where discrimination against minorities is prevalent, the reporter said. He was lectured by the same reporter about how to pronounce “Iran.”, handled the questions, apologized for mispronouncing “Iran” and didn’t shy from discussing racial issues in America.
“I don’t know enough about politics,” he said. “I’m a soccer coach. I’m not well versed in international politics.” The flag kerfuffle, though, threw a curveball at a team that, at this critical juncture, would have preferred to focus exclusively on soccer.“A lot of other constituents have another feeling toward it, but for us, it’s a soccer game against a good team,” Berhalter said. “And it’s not much more than that. … I don’t want to sound aloof or not caring [about Iranian human rights issues] by saying that, but the guys have worked really hard for the last four years.
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