“Naive and stupid” – Germany director Rudi Völler criticises Adeyemi over illegal weapons case

Germany sporting director Rudi Völler indicated that Karim Adeyemi could face sanctions from the DFB following his fine for illegal weapons possession.

Over the weekend, Bild revealed that Borussia Dortmund and Germany star Karim Adeyemi had been issued a penal order and fined €450,000 for illegal possession of a brass knuckle and an electric taser.

Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann and sporting director Rudi Völler refrained from commenting before Monday’s crucial 6-0 win over Slovakia, but in a post-match interview with ZDF, the latter discussed the situation openly.

“First of all, we wanted to stand behind the guy, while still dealing with him critically. We also don’t want to condemn him. At that age, we all made a lot of mistakes – just not ones like this. You have to punish from time to time, but also offer support,” Völler said.

He did not specify what kind of sanction Adeyemi might face from the German Football Association. 

“I don’t want to get ahead of things, that will come later,” he added.

Adeyemi’s lawyer told Bild that the prohibited items came from a mystery box ordered online via TikTok.

“That’s naive and stupid, to order something online when you’re not 100 percent sure what’s in it,” Völler said.

He revealed that he was first informed of the case by Borussia Dortmund sporting director Lars Ricken following Germany’s 2-0 win over Luxembourg on Friday.

“The day after the Luxembourg game, Lars Ricken called me and told us about it. Julian and I then spoke with Karim and wanted to hear his version. He tried to explain it reasonably. He probably hoped it wouldn’t come out,” Völler said, admitting that the DFB were caught off guard by the situation.

The matter will now be “calmly addressed together with Dortmund,” who has it “under control with him,” Völler added.

Adeyemi missed the Luxembourg game due to suspension and did not feature against Slovakia on Monday.