April 14, (THEWILL) – Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane has fully accepted his punishment after his clash with teammate, Leroy Sane, and the case is now closed, coach Thomas Tuchel said on Friday.
Mane, who was fined and suspended for one match after hitting Sane, following Tuesday’s Champions League quarterfinal first-leg 3-0 loss to Manchester City, will miss Saturday’s Bundesliga game against Hoffenheim. Despite the incident, Tuchel said he trusted Mane and believed he was a top professional.
“I am the first one to defend Sadio. I have known him a long time and I know him as a top pro,” Tuchel said. “Everyone can make a mistake. It went against the team’s code of conduct. That’s clear.”
Mane, who joined Bayern last year, complained about the way Sane spoke to him after the defeat at the Etihad Stadium. The two trained together on Thursday as Bayern seeks stability after a rocky few weeks that included last week’s German Cup exit at home to Freiburg. The Bavarians are currently two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with seven games remaining.
“It was important that it was cleared quickly,” Tuchel said. “That had a cleansing effect. We cleared the air so we can train in a positive way. We are not the first and most likely not the last for it to happen to.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
