Club Brugge coach Ivan Leko faces scrutiny over player criticism and language use

Club Brugge coach Ivan Leko has drawn criticism from analyst Franky Van der Elst regarding his public handling of player Mamadou Diakhon. Following a 3-0 victory against OH Leuven, Leko publicly downplayed Diakhon’s performance, attributing his decisive actions to luck and stating the winger has not yet reached his best level. Van der Elst argued that such critiques should be kept internal to avoid undermining the player.

Separately, Leko addressed his decision to conduct media interviews exclusively in English despite being fluent in Dutch. He explained that a past experience a decade ago, where his Dutch was criticized for potentially causing misunderstandings, left a lasting impact. To avoid any risk of miscommunication or nuance errors, he prefers using English for professional press engagements.