Reports emerged that Jens Castrop, South Korea’s first mixed-race national team player, was involved in a fiery confrontation with a teammate during training.
According to German outlet Sport Bild, the incident occurred on Tuesday morning as Borussia Mönchengladbach began their final week of Bundesliga preparation ahead of a home match against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. The team was still reeling from a painful 3-1 loss to Augsburg the previous Saturday.
“The atmosphere at training was more intense than ever. The fighting spirit that Gladbach fans had desperately wanted to see during the embarrassing defeat in Augsburg unfortunately boiled over into a clash between teammates,” the report stated.
Surprisingly, it was Castrop at the center of the altercation. Sport Bild detailed: “The biggest commotion happened during a mini-game tournament. Jens Castrop and Lukas Ullrich were the main characters. After a fierce battle for the ball, the two players confronted each other so aggressively that they nearly grabbed each other’s collars. Teammates Tim Kleindienst and Joe Scally were forced to intervene and physically separate them.”
According to the report, Castrop yelled at Ullrich after what he perceived as a rough foul: “What are you doing? That was a foul! Shut up!” The outburst brought training to a halt.
As tensions escalated, head coach Eugen Polanski immediately stopped the session. He was heard shouting across the training ground: “In the Augsburg game, all you did was complain to the referee. Now here you are trying to kill each other?” The reproach was clearly directed at the players’ misplaced aggression—showing fight against a teammate in training rather than against opponents in a real match.
However, after training, Polanski downplayed the incident in an interview. “It was a normal training session with high intensity and quality. There was a bit of friction, but it’s fine,” he said, indicating the matter would be resolved internally. Such confrontations among teammates are not uncommon in football; even veteran stars like Son Heung-min and Koo Ja-cheol have had similar incidents.
Nevertheless, Castrop’s fiery temperament raises some concerns ahead of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. Known for his relentless style on and off the pitch, the fighter mentality can sometimes benefit the team but also risks backfiring in crucial moments.
Castrop has been a card collector throughout his career. Since debuting with Nürnberg, he has amassed 28 yellow cards, one yellow-red suspension, and four direct red cards in 120 appearances. This season alone, he was sidelined due to a suspension from a red card. At the World Cup, he will need to keep his temper in check.