Hoffenheim have abandoned the use of a drone in training, with chief executive Dr Peter Gorlich telling ESPN FC: "It ended up in the drawer."
On Monday, The Times reported that a drone was part of Hoffenheim coach Julian Nagelsmann's winning formula, with the club on track to qualify for European competition for the first time.
But Gorlich said testing the idea had turned out to be "rather disturbing and distracting" for the players.
"We only call it an innovation if it's in long-term use out on the training pitch and generates additional value for training or competition," he added.
"The drone was an idea. We film training from a camera tower, and for group tactic processes we wanted to find out whether the drone perspective was a better one."
But he said the craft's tendency to distract players meant he "wouldn't call it an innovation for football."