Fifa opens case against Germany staff accused of 'rubbing it in Sweden's faces'
Fifa has opened disciplinary proceedings against two of the German national team's staff after they ran towards the Sweden bench making gestures and applauding ironically following the reigning world champions' last-second victory over the Nordic nation on Saturday.
Sweden coach Janne Andersson was outraged at the actions from the opposition staff, accusing them of "rubbing it in our faces" while celebrating Toni Kroos stunning free-kick that gave Germany a 2-1 win in the crucial World Cup Group F meeting in Sochi.
READ ALSO: Sweden outraged over excessive German celebrations
FIFA has now communicated that it will look into the incident, involving German team media officer Ulrich Voigt, and Georg Behlau, a German FA (DFB) staff member in charge of the office for the national team.
"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has opened disciplinary proceedings against the German officials Ulrich Voigt and Georg Behlau for incidents at the end of the match Germany vs. Sweden," FIFA said in a statement.
German officials taunt Sweden bench after final whistle, and handbags come out.#worldcup #GERSWE ???? pic.twitter.com/44dqWdqPTa
— Gilles (@GrimandiTweets) June 23, 2018
Germany coach Joachim Löw said he was unaware of the confrontation. On Sunday the DFB released a public apology to Sweden over the celebrations.
"It was an emotional game. At the end, one way or the other, the reaction and behaviour from our staff towards the Sweden bench was too emotional. That’s not our style. We apologized to the Swedish coach and his team," a statement on the German national team's Twitter account read, adding “Ursäkta!” (apologies) in Swedish.
READ ALSO: Sweden's Durmaz blasts racists in strong statement
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Sweden coach Janne Andersson was outraged at the actions from the opposition staff, accusing them of "rubbing it in our faces" while celebrating Toni Kroos stunning free-kick that gave Germany a 2-1 win in the crucial World Cup Group F meeting in Sochi.
READ ALSO: Sweden outraged over excessive German celebrations
FIFA has now communicated that it will look into the incident, involving German team media officer Ulrich Voigt, and Georg Behlau, a German FA (DFB) staff member in charge of the office for the national team.
"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has opened disciplinary proceedings against the German officials Ulrich Voigt and Georg Behlau for incidents at the end of the match Germany vs. Sweden," FIFA said in a statement.
German officials taunt Sweden bench after final whistle, and handbags come out.#worldcup #GERSWE ???? pic.twitter.com/44dqWdqPTa
— Gilles (@GrimandiTweets) June 23, 2018
Germany coach Joachim Löw said he was unaware of the confrontation. On Sunday the DFB released a public apology to Sweden over the celebrations.
"It was an emotional game. At the end, one way or the other, the reaction and behaviour from our staff towards the Sweden bench was too emotional. That’s not our style. We apologized to the Swedish coach and his team," a statement on the German national team's Twitter account read, adding “Ursäkta!” (apologies) in Swedish.
READ ALSO: Sweden's Durmaz blasts racists in strong statement
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