German FA suspends two staff members

VATUTINKI, Russia: The German Football Association (DFB) has suspended two of its backroom staff for Wednesday’s crunch World Cup clash against South Korea following an angry exchange with the Sweden bench.

Media coordinator Uli Voigt and Georg Behlau, head of the backroom staff, have been told not to attend the final Group F match in Kazan, which Germany must win by a margin of two goals to be sure of reaching the last 16.

The pair were stood down for provoking Sweden’s bench in Sochi on Saturday with emotional celebrations, which sparked a heated exchange after Toni Kroos’s last-gasp free-kick sealed the Germans’ dramatic 2-1 victory.

Sweden coach Janne Andersson complained about the incident, which FIFA are investigating and the DFB submitted a statement giving their version of events on Monday.