Premier League football manager Jurgen Klopp declined to give reporters his opinion on the Wuhan coronavirus, saying the opinions of “famous people” on politics and pandemics are “not important”.
“What I don’t like in life is that [when it comes to] a very serious thing [like the coronavirus], a football manager’s opinion is important,” Klopp told reporters, said the Liverpool F.C. manager, known for his promotion of the aggressive, relatively action-packed Gegenpressing style of play.
“I don’t understand that. I really don’t understand it, if I asked you, you are in exactly the same role as I am. So it’s not important what famous people say,” he added, in comments during a post-match media scrum reported by CNN.
“We have to speak about [these] things in the right manner, not [to] people with no knowledge, like me, talking about something. People with knowledge will talk about it and tell people to do this, do that, and everything will be fine, or not. Not football managers, I don’t understand that.
“Politics, coronavirus, why me?” asked the German.
“I wear a baseball cap and have a bad shave. I’m concerned like everyone else. I live on this planet and I want it to be safe and healthy, I wish everybody the best, absolutely.
“But my opinion on coronavirus is not important.”
Professional soccer could be hit hard as the virus rips through Europe, with the Italian government having already said it’s star league will likely have to be played behind closed doors for some time, if not cancelled outright — yet.
England’s Premier League, where Klopp’s team plays has for now not taken so radical a step, although it has issued guidelines to all clubs and warned it is “monitoring” the situation.
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