Germany’s manager, Hansi Flick, breaks the World Cup rules before the match against Spain, and now the team is under investigation. While they managed to end in a draw, they have to face FIFA’s disciplinary commission before their final group game against Costa Rica on Thursday.
Apparently, the manager broke a clause in Article 44 that says teams must attend pre-match press conferences before every game with their manager and a player.
Flick broke the clause by speaking to the press by himself without the team before the Spain match. According to the coach, he didn’t want one of his players to travel to and from the engagement.
“You sit in the car for a total of almost three hours,” he said. “And that’s before such an important game.”
Germany had even suggested moving the press conference to Al-Shamal, next to their training ground, but FIFA rejected the idea.
Flick’s defiance was a gamble for Germany, but sources say that the team will likely receive a fine or a warning.
This is not the first time that Germany has gone against FIFA. Just last week, they showed their protest against FIFA’s threat of sport sanctions over teams wearing the OneLove armband by covering their mouths in a team photo.
