Mats Hummels will be ticked off by Germany’s management after posting a video of him jumping from a balcony into a swimming pool – days before key World Cup qualifiers.
Germany have won all six qualifiers so far and could secure their place at next year’s World Cup by beating the Czech Republic in Prague on Friday if other results go their way before hosting Norway in Stuttgart on Monday.
However, Hummels posted a video on Instagram on Tuesday, shot on a break in Croatia after Bayern Munich’s 2-0 win at Werder Bremen on Saturday, of him leaping into a pool and narrowly missing the edge on landing.
The centre-back posted: “looks more spectacular than it actually is. #donttrythisathome” alongside the video, which attracted lots of comments from fans urging the World Cup winner to be more careful.
The 28-year-old’s daredevil video, which attracted almost 300,000 views on Instagram and was used in an online article by Germany’s most popular daily Bild, did not impress Germany’s management so close to internationals.
“It would have been worse if he’d jumped in head first,” Germany’s team manager Oliver Bierhoff told reporters on Wednesday.
“We’re not the social media police, yet we will point out that he is a role model.
“Mats is actually very reflective and I wouldn’t put too much on this,” added Bierhoff.
