sport news Qatar World Cup chief accuses Jurgen Klinsmann of 'racist' Iran comments trends now
Qatar World Cup chief Hassan Al-Thawadi has accused BBC pundit Jurgen Klinsmann of making 'racist' remarks against Iran and has taken aim at Gary Lineker.
German legend Klinsmann caused a storm of controversy with his comments about Iran 'working the referee' after they beat Wales 2-0 on Friday to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
In his post-match analysis, Klinsmann said: 'It is not be coincidence, it is part of their culture, how they play.
'They worked the referee. They work the linesman and fourth official, they are constantly in their ear. There were a lot of incidents we didn't see.
'This is their culture, they take you off your game.'
Qatar's World Cup chief Hassan Al-Thawadi has criticised BBC pundit Jurgen Klinsmann for his comments about Iran 'working the referee' during their match against Wales
Iran claimed a vital 2-0 win in their second group game to keep World Cup hopes alive
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz was left enraged and demanded Klinsmann step down from FIFA's Qatar 2022 Technical Study Group.
Klinsmann has sought to clarify what he meant by his remarks and defuse the situation to 'calm things down'. But not before Al-Thawadi also launched his own criticism.
'The Iran vs Wales game. Iran played very good. They were the better team,' Al-Thawadi told talkSPORT.
'And yet the coverage that we saw on BBC by Jurgen Klinsmann talking about their culture and reflecting the players in a way that was…. I don't like using the word, I will use it only once because I don't want to give power to the world, it was very elitist, orientalist and racist to a certain extent.
'I'll say it this way: you look at what is happening and you say it is part of their culture, what do you mean by that?
'Are you saying it was misunderstood? He was representing a culture in a negative way.'
After the Iran vs Wales match, former Germany striker Klinsmann said the Iranians were 'constantly in the ear' of their officials
Klinsmann had claimed that Iran have learned to 'work the referee' under Carlos Queiroz
Al-Thawadi also hit out at BBC presenter Lineker, who has spoken out against Qatar's human rights - notably the criminalisation of same-sex relationships - and the treatment of the migrant workers who built stadiums and infrastructure for the tournament.
Al-Thawadi, the secretary general for the World Cup
