German Bundesliga club Union Berlin have handed Ivory Coast forward David Datro Fofana a one-week suspension for refusing to shake his manager Urs Fischer’s hands during a UEFA Champions League game on Tuesday.
After replacing Fofana in the 70th minute, Fischer gestured his hand for a shake but the 20-year-old Ivorian snubbed it in a show of displeasure.
Union Berlin lost the game by 1-0 to Napoli and it stretched their losing streak to nine games in all competitions, with Fofana still searching for his first goal for the German club since his loan signing from Chelsea in the summer.
Union Berlin confirmed Fofana’s apology to Fischer and sporting director Oliver Ruhnert with the Ivorian blaming it on his frustration.
He wrote on Instagram, “The gesture was not intended and in no way does it represent my attitude, all this was generated as a result of frustration because I wanted to continue helping the team to obtain a positive result.”
Fofana will miss the Bundesliga fixture against Werder Bremen on Saturday and the German Cup game against Stuttgart on Tuesday as he is expected to resume first-team training next Wednesday, November 1.
The 20-year-old who joined Chelsea from Norwegian club Molde FK in January, is enduring a goal drought in all competitions, with his last competitive goal dating back to November 13 at Molde.
