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UEFA to rule on bickering coaches today
UEFA will decide on Wednesday whether coaches Joachim Loew of Germany and Austria’s Josef Hickersberger will incur further punishment after being sent to the stands during Monday’s Group B match.
UEFA will decide on Wednesday whether coaches Joachim Loew of Germany and Austria’s Josef Hickersberger will incur further punishment after being sent to the stands during Monday’s Group B match.
UEFA’s disciplinary committee will consider the match report from referee Manuel Mejuto of Spain and statements from the German and Austrian federations before deciding if a touchline ban is warranted, spokesman William Gaillard said on Tuesday.
There is no automatic ban for coaches who are sent off, unlike for players, but if Loew suffers that fate he will be unable to contact his players once they arrive at the stadium in Basel for Thursday’s quarter-final with Portugal, Gaillard added.
Any suspension for Hickersberger would apply to his next official match in charge, whether for Austria or any other nation.
The double dismissal shortly before halftime, which Loew said was due to a dispute with the fourth official, was greeted by jeers from both sets of fans.
Loew was warmly greeted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the stands and spent the rest of the match watching with midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who was serving a one-match ban after his sending off against Croatia last Thursday.
“It seems the two coaches were bickering and left their technical areas,” Gaillard said. “The fourth official alerted the referee and the second time he came over he sent them off,” he added. If suspended, Loew would have the right to appeal and a hearing could be arranged very quickly, Gaillard said.
