Schalke goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel has been banned for four games after being sent off on Sunday for a kung-fu-style kick on Eintracht Frankfurt’s Mijat Gacinovic that left the Serbian bleeding from the mouth, according to a report in German daily Bild on Tuesday.
“We have accepted the punishment,” Schalke’s sporting director Jochen Schneider told Bild, though there had as yet been no statement on the matter from the German Football Federation (DFB).
The incident occurred during Sunday’s 1-0 win for Schalke. As Gacinovic raced on to a through ball, Nuebel charged from his goal and flung himself, studs up, at the Serbian, missing the ball and flooring his opponent. He later apologized both publicly and privately.
“It’s about that what Alex has already said: in the end, it’s about Gacinovic’s health. That’s most important,” Schneider said, before thanking Frankfurt for their sportsmanship: “At no time were accusations made towards Alex Nuebel,” he said. “You can’t get better than that. That’s how we should treat each other.”
If confirmed, the ban means Nuebel will miss Schalke’s last two league games before the winter break, against Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bayern Munich – with whom Nuebel has frequently been linked – as well as two games in the new year.
