Press Conference Heats Up When US Captain Tyler Adams and Iranian Journalists Attack Each Other

JAKARTA - The atmosphere is already hot ahead of the Iran vs United States (US) match on Wednesday, November 30, in the early hours of WIB. Off the field, tensions arose during the pre-match press conference where the US national team captain, Tyler Adams, and journalists from Iran "attacked each other".

Quoted from Marca, Adams represented the USMNT team in the press conference. On that occasion, he was instead asked a tricky question by an Iranian journalist who took the opportunity to criticize the player and the situation in his country.

A tense moment occurred when Adams answered comments that he supports the protests taking place in Iran.

Responding to Adams's answer, the reporter gave a surprising response. He criticized the captain, who he thought had mispronounced the journalist's country of origin.

“You (Tyler Adams) say you support Iran, but you pronounce the country's name wrong. Our country is pronounced Iranian, not 'Arian' (as Adams would say). So now and for the last time let's get things straight", the journalist was quoted as saying by Marca, Tuesday, November 29.

Adams was taken aback by the journalist's response, but he managed to stay calm in the face of criticism. However, the situation escalated when the journalist again attacked Adams with another question.

"Are you comfortable representing a country with so much discrimination against African Americans within its borders and where there is a "Black Lives Matter" movement?" asked the journalist.

Realizing the situation could not be conducive, Adams did not want to be provoked by emotions. He even apologized first for his mispronunciation.

The captain avoided controversy, then explained briefly that he was from an African-American family and confirmed the reporter's question.

"There is discrimination everywhere", he answered briefly.