The control board of the German Football Association (DFB) has opened an investigation against Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voeller after he criticised a referee last week.
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The former Germany coach hit out at Bastian Dankert, who denied Leverkusen two penalties during their 2-1 defeat at Hamburg on Friday.
Leverkusen coach Sami Hyypia was sacked in the wake of the loss following a dismal spell, and will be replaced by Sascha Lewandowski until the end of the season.
But while German media mostly singled out a lack of real characters as the main reason for the club’s poor second half of the Bundesliga season, Voeller passed the blame for the latest defeat on to Dankert.
“There was only one reason we lost on Friday. Mr Dankert was the 13th Hamburg player,” Voeller told Sport1. “Should HSV file an application that Mr Dankert will officiate one more Hamburg match this season then they will definitely not go down.”
On Monday, though, the DFB’s control board decided to open an investigation against the Leverkusen sporting director and has asked Voeller to explains his comments. The DFB will then decide whether or not to fine him for his remarks.
Voeller has been in trouble with the DFB in the past, having been fined twice in 2011 for lashing out at referees.
The first incident, in May of that year, saw Voeller suggest that Deniz Aytekin should be moved to officiate women’s football.