Jurgen Klinsmann in ‘culture’ spat with Carlos Queiroz

Jurgen Klinsmann hopes to speak with Iran manager Carlos Queiroz to smooth things over following their war of words over the weekend.

Klinsmann, the former U.S. national team head coach, was called “a disgrace to football” by Queiroz for criticizing Iran’s “culture” of working the referees during a 2-0 win Friday over Wales.

“There was stuff really taken out of context. I will try to give him a call and calm things down,” Klinsmann, who won the World Cup as a player for Germany in 1990, said Sunday on BBC.

Klinsmann said Friday that Queiroz, whose Iran squad will play the U.S. on Tuesday to decide which team will advance out of Group B, “fits really well with the national team and their culture,” adding “it is not a coincidence, it is part of their culture how they play” that “they worked the referees” during the Wales match.

“They are constantly in their ear,” Klinsmann said. “This is their culture, they take you off your game.”

Queiroz responded on Twitter that Klinsmann’s comments “undermine our efforts, sacrifices and skills,” while also calling for him to resign from his role on FIFA’s World Cup technical study group.

“I have never criticized Carlos or the Iranian bench. Some even thought I was criticizing the referee because he didn’t do anything about the way they were behaving on the bench,” Klinsmann said Sunday. “All I described was their emotional way of doing things, which is actually admirable in a certain way. The whole bench lives the game. They’re jumping up and down and Carlos is a very emotional coach, he’s constantly on the sidelines trying to give his players all his energy and direction.”

The 58-year-old Klinsmann led the USMNT to the knockout stage of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but he was fired in 2016, shortly after losses to Mexico and Costa Rica that contributed to the American squad failing to qualify in 2018 in Russia.