The coach of Luxembourg's national men's football team complains that reporters are making "a big deal" out of his decision to select a man convicted of assault and battery. What did he think was going to happen?

It feels not that long ago when seemingly everyone was talking about the gripping mini-series Adolescence. For a few weeks, we saw article after article about "What is happening with young men" and why after years of social progress, we now appear to be backsliding at a rapid pace.

While one may point out that it is a bit shameful that it apparently took a Netflix show for most male politicians and journalists to realise that there might be a problem with male violence against women, at least we were finally having a discussion.

And I guess we now have to thank the coach of the Luxembourg national men's football team for reminding us just how urgent this discussion is.

A brief reminder: A Luxembourg court recently decided to uphold an 18-month suspended prison sentence against a professional football player for cases of domestic violence and assault. Despite this decision, the player in question was selected to play for Luxembourg's national team in upcoming friendlies against Slovenia and Ireland.

While that was already bad enough, the statements made by national coach Luc Holtz to justify this decision genuinely shocked me beyond belief.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Holtz seemed almost annoyed that the media would have the audacity to ask him about the nomination of a man convicted for assault. "We live in a democracy, and everyone may express their opinion" – I have followed enough public discourse over the years to know that statements that start off like this tend to go downhill from there (it's sort of the more pretentious cousin of "I'm not racist, BUT…").

Holtz then said that he "doesn't feel called to judge for a second time." On that point, I can reassure the coach that no one expects him to put his career on hold, get a law degree, and complete the mandatory training to become a judge. All that is expected of him is to use some common sense when selecting his team.

The last part of his brief speech was the most insolent by far, however. Holtz criticised reporters for "making a big deal" out of the situation, hilariously noting that the team had been together for a week and no one had brought it up – apparently in the belief that this would prove just how ridiculous the outrage is.

The only thing it actually revealed is a shocking level of indifference among the entire squad. Are you telling me that not a single one of these footballers expressed even the slightest criticism regarding the fact that they are playing alongside a perpetrator of domestic violence? If this is true, then they have all disgraced themselves.

Between the lines, it was evident that Holtz was attempting to use the infamous "non-political" excuse. Whether it's sports, Eurovision, or similar events: At the mere hint of an ethical issue being raised, they all put their fingers in their ears and screech "non-political!", as if that would somehow absolve them of any responsibility.

Let's be clear: There is no such thing as being "non-political". Everything is political because at its core, politics is literally about the way we decide to live with each other. And this includes – for better or for worse – football.

Holtz says we are the ones making "a big deal" out of this. On this, I would like to ask him: Do the countless victims of domestic violence not matter? Would you prefer they shut their mouths when they see a stadium full of people applaud and cheer on a man convicted of some of the very crimes they were subjected to? Because these are the consequences of your actions – whether you acknowledge them or not.

On Tuesday evening, several news outlets reported that Holtz would no longer be giving interviews to one specific journalist, accusing him of hostile intentions in his reporting on the national team. The journalist in question published an article last week which included critical statements by a former Luxembourg national coach regarding the current situation.

Even over the course of my rather short life, it is evident that scrutiny of public figures in Luxembourg has increased. What is equally evident is that certain people really don't like that – and reveal disturbingly authoritarian impulses in response.

Over two years ago, I wrote an op-ed urging men to recognise that we are the one and only problem when it comes to male violence. One of the things I said in that piece is that as men, we need to be willing to call out each other's problematic behaviour. The times in which we simply moved on are over – and we are not going back.

Playing for a national team is an honour and a privilege. It is about so much more than athletic achievement. The players in these teams represent their country. And maybe, just maybe, we should have some standards when it comes to the people that represent us to the world.