As Leroy Sane warmed up for Bayern's match against Hoffenheim, his swollen lip from an earlier confrontation with Sadio Mane was clearly evident. Since then, the club's manager Thomas Tuchel, and president Herbert Hainer have revealed their true feelings on the incident and what is to follow.
The transfer of Sadio Mane from Liverpool to Bayern has apparently been a bust for both clubs. The Premier League side's loss of a key offensive cog may be seen as a tale told from two perspectives.
Bayern, however, failed to sign a player who might compensate for Robert Lewandowski's move to Barcelona. Mane has not even come close to matching the performance we witnessed from him at Anfield. Perhaps most surprisingly, eight of the forward's appearances this season have come as a substitute.
The 31-year-old is more of a supporting character than a pivotal one. Even worse, the Bavarians' 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals was compounded by a violent fight between Mane and Leroy Sane in the Etihad Stadium locker room.
What did Bayern's upper management say of Sadio Mane's scuffle with Leroy Sane?
Bayern, who needed a win to bounce back from their midweek humiliation in England, instead played to a 1-1 draw with midtable Hoffenheim. The Senegalese player was banned for Saturday's Bundesliga match, and during pregame warmups, Sane could be seen with visible wounds from their off-the-field altercation.
Bayern has now taken a firm stance on the matter, with head coach Thomas Tuchel praising Mane's professionalism and maintaining that everyone is entitled to make mistakes: "I am his first lawyer and his first defender. I've known him for so long, and I know his entourage. He has my full support. He had that before, and he still has it after this mistake that he has made. Everyone has the right to make a mistake. It went against the team's code of conduct. That's clear.
"It was important that it was cleared quickly. That had a cleansing effect. It was important that he remained in training even if he has this one-match ban. Because we had to deal with it and it was a blatant incident, we had to clear it before the next training. We did it yesterday. We cleared the air so we can train in a positive way. We are not the first and most likely not the last for it to happen to us", the German said at a press conference.
The latest person to weigh in on the altercation was the club president, Herbert Hainer: “What happened after the game cannot be tolerated. Sadio was punished. The fine - even with his salary - hurts him. He and Leroy Sane spoke out. Sadio has apologized to the team. We are now looking ahead", he told BILD.
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