After Club Brugge's 4–2 victory over RSC Anderlecht in the Jupiler Pro League playoffs, manager Ivan Leko publicly criticised his international players, expressing frustration that his side nearly squandered a three-goal advantage.

Goals from Kyriani Sabbe, Aleksandar Stanković and Christos Tzolis handed Brugge a commanding lead at the interval. 

However, strikes from Thorgan Hazard and Mihajlo Cvetković reduced the deficit to 3–2 before Romeo Vermant sealed the win deep into stoppage time.

Although Leko did not explicitly name the players in question, Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws reported that his comments were directed at Aleksandar Stanković, Raphael Onyedika and Joel Ordóñez, all of whom had recently returned from international duty with Serbia, Nigeria and Ecuador respectively.

Reacting to the remarks, former Club Brugge and Anderlecht forward Marc Degryse warned that the national team coaches of the players involved, including Eric Chelle, are unlikely to appreciate such public criticism.

"To be honest, I didn't think his remarks were wise. You don't make any friends with this," Degryse wrote in Het Laatste Nieuws, via Voetbal Primeur.

"What would national coach Rudi Garcia and sporting director Vincent Mannaert think if they saw Leko's statements? Or the national coaches of other national teams? Those men aren't amateurs either, after all."

Onyedika completed the full match against Anderlecht but was seen sitting on the turf on several occasions due to cramps.

The FC Ebedei product was an unused substitute in Nigeria's 2–1 victory over Iran and featured for around an hour in the 2–2 draw with Jordan.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel