Michael Olise’s post-match interview pattern has gone viral once again because of the Frenchman’s replies — or, more accurately, the lack of them.

Yet another post-match interview involving Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise has spread widely for all the wrong reasons.

Once again, football supporters have been left watching the uncomfortable combination of long silences and a player seemingly doing everything possible to make things difficult for the person holding the microphone.

What may once have appeared to be an odd, meme-friendly trait during his younger days has now moved well beyond that. Olise’s casual media act is neither smart nor stylish — it comes across as rude, exhausting, and reflects badly on young footballers.

For quite some time, I was prepared to give the Frenchman the benefit of the doubt. I even defended him.

‘Does he suffer from social anxiety? Is he simply extremely shy?’ It is not easy to be a teenager suddenly pushed into the spotlight, so it was a reasonable question to raise.

But recent referee-camera footage has broken that argument apart. On the pitch, Olise is the complete opposite of someone frightened by attention, with his supposed communication issues disappearing when he is disputing a decision with a match official. He is vocal, expressive and — in stark contrast to his post-match media chats — completely uninhibited.

This moody, detached version of himself that appears only in front of post-match broadcasters is a deliberate choice. The clipped one-word answers and the sense of effortless arrogance indicate that he knows exactly what he is doing with these non-responses.

Watch those viral clips carefully and you will notice broadcast journalists — often asking questions in their second or even third language with admirable composure — remaining thoroughly professional while receiving total indifference in return.

This is not just one journalist instinctively defending another; it is about basic decency at work. Does Olise respond with the same silence to staff at Bayern’s training ground? To the people serving his meals, or those working on security, reception and the front desk?

The golden rule should still matter, even in elite football: treat others as you would want to be treated yourself.

At a time when access to players has become extremely limited, reporters are often given only a few minutes to gather something meaningful. The questions may at times sound repetitive or feel like a formality to the interviewee, but that is simply the reality of tightly controlled media zones. The very least a player can offer in return is basic courtesy.

Most professionals understand the unspoken agreement between sport and the media — they stay cordial, polite and cooperative, even when their answers are packed with generic public-relations language, and we, as journalists, return to our editors with the essential currency: quotes.

Olise, on the other hand, appears to treat the microphone as an inconvenience and the person holding it with visible contempt — at least that is how it comes across in this latest clip.

It also raises another question: why do Bayern Munich’s press officers keep placing him in front of the cameras?

The process is straightforward. After a match, broadcasters, journalists and rights-holders ask to speak to certain players depending on how the 90 minutes unfolded. In the end, however, it is the club’s communications department that decides whether to approve those requests or send somebody else instead.

Continuing to put Olise in front of rights-holders when everybody already knows he will intentionally shut down the interviewer helps no one. It creates deeply awkward viewing, shows disrespect to broadcast partners and harms the club’s image.

To be fair, the sports media world is far from spotless. Intrusive headlines and unfair coverage in the past may well have made Olise wary of journalists.

If that is indeed the reason, then his scepticism towards the press is entirely understandable — Sir Alex Ferguson refused to deal with the BBC for years after deciding that their questioning of fellow manager and his son, Darren, was unacceptable.

But directing that frustration at an innocent broadcast journalist who is merely doing their job after a match is anger aimed in the wrong place. Being a world-class footballer brings enormous privilege, but ability, fame and wealth do not place anyone above basic manners.