Werder Bremen have suspended midfielder Naby Keita until the end of the season and fined the Guinean after he did not travel with the team for their Bundesliga match against Bayer Leverkusen upon learning that he would not be in the starting line-up.
Bremen, who suffered a 5-0 defeat by Leverkusen on Sunday, said the 29-year-old will no longer train with the team or be in the dressing room.
Naby Keita suspended
SV Werder Bremen have suspended Naby Keïta until the end of the season.
The club have also handed the midfielder a substantial fine. The 28-year-old will no longer train with the team or be part of the first-team dressing room.#werder pic.twitter.com/CW1gTNKfMa— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) April 16, 2024
Werder Bremen have suspended Naby Keïta until the end of the season.
The club have also handed the midfielder a substantial fine.The 28-year-old will no longer train with the team or be part of first-team dressing room.
Keita joined on free transfer after #LFC chapter. pic.twitter.com/VlcyIx6QRu
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 16, 2024
Keita moved to the German side upon the expiry of his contract at Premier League club Liverpool in 2023 but has made only five appearances for the team.
"Naby's behavior is intolerable for us as a club. With this action, he has let his team down in a tense sporting and personnel situation and put himself above the team. We cannot allow that," Bremen's Head of Professional Football Clemens Fritz said in a statement on Tuesday.
"At this stage of the season, we need to be fully focused on the upcoming games and have a team that stands very close together. There was therefore no alternative to the measures we took."
Bremen, 12th in the Bundesliga standings, host third-placed VfB Stuttgart on Sunday.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)