Enlarge image
Thomas Tuchel has been Chelsea FC coach since early 2021
Photo: DAVID KLEIN / REUTERS
The reporter had not finished speaking when Thomas Tuchel interrupted him.
"No, now listen," said the Chelsea FC coach at a press conference on Tuesday.
"You have to stop," said Tuchel: "I don't have any answers for you."
Tuchel was furious after several inquiries about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how the German coach assessed the role played by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
Tuchels seemed cornered, his reaction was visibly annoyed.
It is understandable that Tuchel does not feel comfortable with such questions in a world situation like this.
But the way he tried to avoid the situation was disappointing: his tone harsh, his demeanor dismissive.
That's not okay considering the sport is part of a conflict.
The entanglements of the sports world and politics are becoming more obvious than ever these days.
Over the years, Russia has built up a network in international sports: Vladimir Putin was honorary president of some sports, Sochi hosted the winter games worth billions, companies like Gazprom could be seen on the jersey of a traditional club, oligarchs bought football clubs.
Yes, sport is political and will remain so.
One would wish all the more that sport would recognize its role in these interdependencies, that it has given Russia a stage for its propaganda for years.
He made himself complicit in making Russia feel strong.
If Tuchel is asked today about the Russian war in Ukraine, he doesn't risk much.
But the questions make sense in his case.
His club is Chelsea FC, which has been financed by millions of dollars from the Russian oligarch Abramovich for almost two decades.
Abramovich, in turn, became one of the richest people in the world thanks to Russian government contracts in the energy sector.
Suddenly he gets grumpy
Tuchel gets his money from Russia;
he has at least a detour connection to the country that is waging a war in Ukraine.
That too is a conflict.
But when he was asked about Abramovich's relationship with Putin on Tuesday, Tuchel dodged and didn't want to reveal much.
"I can't say anything about Mr. Abramovich's role because I simply don't know enough about it."
He was asked several times about the war, which Tuchel described as "terrible."
But the more questions came, the more annoyed Tuchel became.
'I'm not a politician.
You should stop asking me those questions,' he said, ending further discussion.
His tone was snotty and he was impatient.
Let's get down to business and talk about football, the motto seemed to be.
Tuchel is not an isolated case.
With his behavior, he stands for many responsible people in sport who insist that politics has not lost him in their industry.
But sport, business and world politics have long been far too closely intertwined for this attitude.
In particular in Tuchel's and Chelsea's case.
However, no one expects Tuchel to give up his post at Chelsea to show his solidarity with Ukraine - even if this would be a powerful signal.
The 48-year-old is one of the most successful football coaches in the world, having won the Champions League last year.
It's a pleasure to listen to him when he talks about football.
However, Tuchel is also someone who has always dealt with topics outside of football.
He attended panel discussions, spoke about culture.
Tuchel could express his inner conflict between being a football coach and being employed by a Russian oligarch, he is believed to be capable of that.
But instead he's nasty.
Perhaps his reaction only shows that he is overwhelmed by the situation.
That's human.
Tuchel himself once said that what he appreciates most about Chelsea FC is that it's all about football.
As a coach, he can concentrate fully on this one task.
But now the situation is different and he should have known that the questions about Russia and Ukraine would come up.
In England, a coach is much more the communicator of a club than in Germany, where this role is spread over several shoulders.
But the face of Chelsea: that's Tuchel.
The questions didn't catch him off guard.
Chelsea's owner Abramovich is trying to sell the club to a new investor these days.
Because of his possible closeness to Putin, he could also be affected by sanctions.
Tuchel may soon have a new boss, the Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss says he was offered the club for sale.
Then the club would no longer be in Russian hands.
Tuchel would then be less in demand in this conflict and the topic would be over.