Stephan Lichtsteiner earns support after suggesting Swiss side has too many immigrants
ByFootballItalia
Updated 30/03/2015 at 14:41 GMT
Juventus defender Stephan Lichtsteiner has been backed by his Switzerland team-mates after controversial statements.
Juventus' Alvaro Morata (R) celebrates with team-mate Stephan Lichtsteiner after scoring against Palermo (Reuters)
Image credit: Reuters
The Juventus full-back gave an interview in which he said the Swiss team needed ‘role models’ like Tranquillo Barnetta, rather than players of an immigrant background.
While the former Lazio man made it clear he was not trying to pass judgement on his ‘foreign’ team-mates, he implied there were ‘too many’ of them in the national team.
“There’s no problem in the Swiss squad,” Valon Behrami, who is of Kosovan origin, said when asked about the comments, as reported by L’Equipe.
“We are a group, and I can assure you that group is very strong. Switzerland is a country which gives a chance to people of an immigrant background.
"We need to stop talking about players been ‘Swiss-Swiss’ or ‘Kosovan-Swiss’, it gets us nowhere. We are Swiss, and we play for Switzerland.”
Rennes midfielder Gelson Fernandes also played down the furore.
“We cannot hide that the squad consists of different nationalities, different cultures.
“A few months before the World Cup it was said that this multi-cultural Switzerland was a strength, and I think it is.”
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