San Marino Criticize Thomas Muller For Comments After Germany’s 8-0 World Cup Qualifying Win

San Marino coach Pierangelo Manzaroli and his staff have accused Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller of being disrespectful for comments he made following Germany’s 8-0 World Cup Qualifying win over his national team in Serravalle on Friday.

San Marino Criticize Thomas Muller For Comments After Germany’s 8-0 World Cup Qualifying Win

Muller said he did not “see the point” of Germany playing such games against weaker teams like San Marino, a micro-state, and claimed it posed a risk to professional players like himself to be subjected to some of the tackling amateur players dish out.

“Matches like the one against San Marino have nothing to do with professional football,” said the 27-year-old forward. “I do not understand the meaning of games such as these, more so with such a busy schedule. I understand it for them, especially playing against the world champions, I also understand that we can only defend with hard work. Precisely for this reason, however, I wonder if these are not games that lead to unnecessary risks.”

San Marino director of communications Alan Gasperoni also criticized Muller, and even went as far as compiling a ten-point letter explaining all the reasons he believed the German player was wrong. Gasperoni published this letter via a Facebook post in Italian.

“When a small nation like San Marino play against the world champions Germany, a result like this can happen,” Manzaroli told Mediaset. “The important thing is that respect should never be lacking. I think that also you need to show the right degree of self-control after the match and this is what makes the difference when judging the stature of people.”

He continued: “In this case, this aspect was found wanting. I think the numbers make the difference — we are a country of 30,000 inhabitants and we don’t give out passports for sports reasons. There is a lot of work goes into what we do and I would not read too much into the Germany game because we’ve played lots of games that have been even, especially against some top nations.

“We shouldn’t let remarks like these get to us. We are an amateur national team, but absolutely professional in creating our identity. These remarks are maybe forced on the players by big federations who are perhaps looking to change the system of qualification. Maybe it’s right too, but these things should be said by representatives of the federations and not by the players, who then risk generating a backlash.”

Germany coach Joachim Low defended Muller’s comments at his pre-game news conference ahead of the friendly with Italy on Tuesday, stating the forward is used to competing against players who are “physically and technically professionals.”

MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 15: Thomas Mueller of Germany in action during the International Friendly Match between Italy and Germany at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on November 15, 2016 in Milan, . (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)