Canada’s John Herdman’s ‘I mean no disrespect’ follow-up to his earlier ‘F— Croatia!’ was perfect

In this day and age of sports, viewers and readers have so much more access to profane comments from those involved than ever before. Whether that’s with crowd mics, field mics, hot mics, player mics, player interviews, fan interviews, aware broadcasters, televised locker-room speeches and celebrations, press conferences, or even relayed reporting, it’s quite often possible to find profanity in sports.

This is perhaps more of a change in the media landscape than a change in sports, though, as there are plenty of past accounts of profane comments from players and coaches that just weren’t widely broadcast at the time. And it’s worth keeping in mind that sports profanity isn’t always as significant as similar comments in outside arenas might be, especially when that’s coming as part of a motivational dialogue.

Canadian men’s soccer manager John Herdman provided the latest example of that this week. On Thursday, Herdman discussed “F— Croatia!” comments he made in a post-match huddle with the team (their next 2022 FIFA World Cup opponent). He made those comments in a live BBC interview Wednesday after Canada‘s 1-0 loss to Belgium.

https://twitter.com/MenInBlazers/status/1595530413182705665

On Thursday, Herdman (seen above yelling on the sidelines during that Belgium match), explained why he said that on air and what he meant. Here’s video of that:

John Herdman explains to Croatian media his “F Croatia” comment after Canada’s first loss at the #FIFAworldcup. pic.twitter.com/A4vQlezlfH

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 24, 2022

And a transcription from TSN’s Matthew Scianitti:

Herdman: “Great question. Yeah I did. I mean, you say those things in an impassioned moment trying to inspire your team in a huddle. And when you’re asked a question ‘What did you say that huddle?’ It’s what I said. It’s not massively respectful to Croatian people…

— Matthew Scianitti (@TSNScianitti) November 24, 2022

…to the Croatian team and Croatian people, but at the end of the day it’s a mindset that Canada is going to have if we’re going to have 3 points against one of the top teams in the world. And it’s the mindset we took to Belgium. We have to; it’s part of ‘New Canada.’

— Matthew Scianitti (@TSNScianitti) November 24, 2022

Two key sentences there, on how Herdman was being honest in relaying what he told his team, and on what he meant with the “F— Croatia!”:

“And when you’re asked a question, ‘What did you say in that huddle?’, it’s what I said. …I mean no disrespect to the Croatian team and Croatian people, but at the end of the day, it’s a mindset Canada’s got to have if we’re going to have three points against one of the top teams in the world.”

From this corner, that really nails it. There’s nothing wrong with being polite, but coaches in particular may sometimes need to go beyond that in motivational speeches, whether internally with their team (which still often winds up being reported or broadcast) or in public to the media. And while some hate profanity in any circumstance, it can be an effective way to illustrate the vehemence of a point.

But especially in an actual international context, it’s vital to keep in mind that this is all just a game, and not actually a real comment on a country or its people. Herdman addressed that well in his explanation. If a coach was actually ranting about another country being terrible, that might be a cause for concern. But “F*** Croatia” as the attitude Canada needs to take into their next World Cup match (Sunday at 11 a.m. Eastern) certainly seems reasonable.

[Matthew Scianitti on Twitter; photo from Yukihito Taguchi/USA Today Sports]