Earlier this week we reported that Felix Nmecha's crown gesture had become a Borussia Dortmund problem. The latest word from Jurgen Klopp is that the row has been taken back into a private conversation, with the Germany manager saying he confronted the midfielder and was told the celebration will not happen again.
Klopp's conversation with Nmecha
Klopp said the issue only really sharpened after the backlash grew. He watched Nmecha score two great goals last weekend, saw the celebration called The King's Return, and then followed the argument that broke out around it.
"It was a big issue. I saw Felix score two great goals and saw the celebration and then the gesture. I thought nothing of it at the time. But then it all kicked off," Klopp told dailymail.com.
He said he started digging into the details once the story escalated. Klopp then went to Nmecha directly and said the player had nothing to do with discriminatory intent. "He told me that it had nothing to do with that at all, and that he loves all people and does not discriminate against anyone," Klopp said.
Klopp also made clear where he stands on the gesture itself. "For me the most important issue was settled. Then I said 'how do we do it with the goal celebration?' He will not be celebrating like that."
Dortmund's wider concern
There is still a public argument around how the celebration should be read. Ballers in God, the evangelical network founded in 2015 by former Tottenham midfielder John Bostock, has presented the gesture as a faith-led expression and says it wants to show love and respect to everyone.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, Borussia Dortmund's president, has taken a different line. He said supporters at Monday's annual general meeting were clearly divided, that the concern should be taken seriously, and that Dortmund's core values are not entirely compatible with Ballers in God's outlook.
Watzke also said he told Nmecha that if he feels the gesture is dividing fans, he should think about stopping it. The club president described a one-hour video call and said they are still looking for a sensible solution, which is a little less final than Klopp's version of events.
Even so, Klopp's intervention matters because it pushes the story away from public confrontation and towards a club-managed fix. The celebration has not disappeared from view, but the player has been told not to repeat it, and that is the clearest new development after a week of noise.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
