Soccer Football - Euro 2024 - Round of 16 - France v Belgium - Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf, Germany - July 1, 2024 Belgium's Koen Casteels looks dejected after the match REUTERS/Carmen Jaspersen/File photo
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium goalkeeper Koen Casteels has quit the national team in protest at the impending return to the squad of rival Thibaut Courtois.
Casteels has been Belgium’s first choice over the last 18 months while Courtois refused to play after a spat with former coach Domenico Tedesco but with Belgium appointing Rudi Garcia as their coach in January, Courtois has said he is ready to return.
"It's strange that the football association has turned 180 degrees and is rolling out the red carpet and welcoming him back with open arms," Casteels told the Belgian podcast MidMid, aired on Sunday.
Courtois refused to play under Tedesco after a row over the captaincy in mid-2023 and it was Casteels who kept goal at last year’s European Championship in Germany, where Belgium were eliminated in the last 16.
Casteels, who spent most of his career in the Bundesliga but now plays in Saudi Arabia, was Courtois’ long-time understudy.
The 32-year-old Courtois, with 102 caps and rated one of the best keepers in world football, has since met with Garcia and last month said he was keen to return to the national team.
"First of all, I think it’s a bit strange that Courtois can decide for himself whether he can come back," Casteels said.
"It is not so much towards Thibaut, but mainly towards the football association. That does not fit in with the standards and values that I have about what a team sport or a sporting organisation should have.
"As of today, I am no longer available (for the national team)," he added.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ed Osmond)
