Augsburg captain Daniel Baier has been banned and fined for making an obscene gesture at RB Leipzig boss Ralph Hasenhüttl in the sides’ midweek Bundesliga clash.
Cameras caught Baier directing a motion simulating the act of masturbation at the visiting coach in Tuesday’s match at WWK Arena, which saw Augsburg win 1-0.
An incensed Hasenhüttl then refused to shake the midfielder’s hand after the match.
One-match ban and 20,000-euro fine for the captain.
Referee Daniel Siebert did not see the gesture, but Baier agreed to the sanction after he was summoned to give his side of events.
Baier approached Hasenhuettl after his team’s 1-0 win but the Leipzig coach refused his handshake.
“It wasn’t an apology. You saw the action on TV. I don’t need to comment on it or judge it,” Hasenhuettl said after Augsburg’s 1-0 win.
Baier apologized to teammates on social media and said he also tried to apologize in the Leipzig changing room after the game.
“I did not do justice to my role as Augsburg captain,” Baier said. “On the spur of the moment, I allowed myself make a gesture that I myself don’t know how I made. I apologize to all who took offense from it.”
The 33-year-old later apologized over the incident on social media, but the German Football Federation (DFB) on Wednesday opted to suspend him for one game and fine him 20,000 euros.
He will now miss Augsburg’s league trip to face VfB Stuttgart on Sunday.
Culled from AS
