Norway boss Stale Solbakken has hit out at Arsene Wenger for making “stupid statements” in his role as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development.
The Frenchman, 73, has made headlines with a number of claims since joining football’s oft-criticised governing body.
Playing the World Cup every two years is just one of Wenger’s ideas for the game while he made headlines in Qatar for suggesting teams like Germany suffered on the pitch after making political protests.
For Solbakken, Wenger’s claims are particularly disappointing as he is someone he admired for a long time.
“It is frightening with all the people we have looked up to in the football world,” he told Norway’s TV2.
“I shudder when I see how the world's most intelligent man, Arsene Wenger, who I have looked up to all these years, has been brainwashed and makes the most stupid statements.”
Arsenal legend Wenger insisted Germany lost their first group game in Qatar, en route to an early exit from the World Cup, due to not “focusing on the competition”.
He said: “You know when you go to a World Cup, you know you can’t lose the first game.
“The teams who have the experience to perform in tournaments like France and England played well in the first game. The teams who were mentally ready, with a mindset to focus on competition, and not the political demonstrations.”
