German FA suspend two staff members over spat with Swedish bench

AFP  |  Vatutinki (Russia) 

The (DFB) has suspended two of its backroom staff for tomorrow's crunch clash against following an angry exchange with the bench.

and Georg Behlau, of the backroom staff, have been told not to attend the final Group F match in Kazan, which must win by a margin of two goals to be sure of reaching the last 16.

The pair were stood down for provoking Sweden's bench in Sochi on Saturday with emotional celebrations, which sparked a heated exchange after Toni Kroos's last-gasp free-kick sealed the Germans' dramatic 2-1 victory.

complained about the incident, which are investigating and the DFB submitted a statement giving their version of events yesterday.

The DFB said it "expressly regrets the gestures towards the Swedish bench by two members of the support staff" and that the pair had let their emotions get the better of them.

According to reports, members of the German squad later apologised to their Swedish counterparts after the game in Sochi.

"It was an emotional game and in the end one or two reactions or gestures from our staff towards the Swedish bench were too emotional, which is not our style," wrote the DFB on their account.

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First Published: Tue, June 26 2018. 14:55 IST