Bayern Munich's newly-elected president Uli Hoeness has apologised for his use of the word "enemy" when discussing Bundesliga leaders Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund.
Hoeness, 64, was re-elected to the role of president as the only candidate standing for the post at the Bavarian club's annual general meeting on Friday.
And Hoeness said at the meeting: "Leipzig won 4-1, now we have a new enemy besides Dortmund we can attack."
Leipzig's win in Freiburg on Friday took the newly-promoted side six points ahead of the German champions, who are seeking a fifth Bundesliga title in succession. However, Bayern Munich cut the deficit back to three on Saturday, beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-1.
But Hoeness, a former player and general manager for the Bavarian giants, told Sky Germany he was sorry for his comments before Bayern's game against Bayer Leverkusen.
"I got carried away in my euphoria yesterday and used a totally inappropriate word -- this applies equally for Dortmund and Leipzig," he said.
Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel told Sky before his side's 2-1 defeat in Frankfurt, that he "didn't like the word," before adding, "we are happily rivals, but it's not about hostility."
Responding to Tuchel's comments, Hoeness said, "He's absolutely right. I won't use the word anymore."
"In wars like in Iraq or Syria you have enemies, but not in football," he added.
"We have rivals, opponents that you fight against. I officially retract the word enemy and I apologise."
Hoeness' first spell as president ended when he was imprisoned for tax evasion in 2014, serving 21 months of a three-and-a-half year sentence.
He said: "Of course I had a very difficult time. Naturally it's made me a lot humbler and much more reflective. This will have an influence on my work in the future."