Following their exit from the Qatar World Cup: The national team coach urges fans to stop sending hate messages to the players.
“The players do not deserve the hatred of the fans,” was the message of Kasper Hjulmand, coach of the Danish national football team, at a press conference in Qatar after the men’s national team lost yesterday’s match against Australia and exited the Qatar World Cup.
Hjulmand said, “If you are unhappy with the national team’s performance at the World Cup in Qatar and want to send a hate message about it, send it to Kasper Hjulmand, not to the players.”.
According to the national coach, the players received hate mail in the wake of the disastrous World Cup failure, but he says that must stop now: “The players don’t deserve that. You’re welcome to do it to me, I can take it. It’s my responsibility too.”
Kasper Hjulmand has also previously expressed sharp criticism of social media, which he believes is “ruining our lives.” Last September, after Dane Joachim Andersen started a discussion about hate messages against footballers, Kasper Hjulmand said, “We just had to shut down the whole team.”.
The same controversy arose during the 2021 European Championship, when three dark-skinned players in the England squad were subjected to racist comments on social media after the defeat to Italy in the European Championship final, prompting the English Football Association to strongly distance itself from “all forms of discrimination.”.
