Union president Zingler criticizes Bjelica for altercation with Sané

Union Berlin president Dirk Zingler sharply criticized team's coach Nenad Bjelica for his unsportsmanlike behaviour in the 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

"Despite all the understandable emotions in football, something like this must not happen to a head coach. A coach must remain calm in such a situation and not allow himself to be carried away by unsportsmanlike behaviour," Zingler told Saturday's edition of the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.

"He didn't live up to his role model status at that moment. He was sanctioned for this as part of his contract," Zingler said.

Bjelica was suspended by the German Football Federation (DFB) for three games after an altercation with Bayern winger Leroy Sané. The coach hit the Sané in the face as the player was trying to get the ball to take a throw in. He also received a fine of €25,000.

The coach said on his Instagram that he has apologized to Sané after watching the scene "several times and calmly."

"I reacted as I should never have done in that situation. I'm sorry for that and I'd like to apologize to my squad, my club and Leroy Sané," he wrote on Friday.

Union postponed to Saturday a news conference scheduled for Friday ahead of the Bundesliga match against Darmstadt on Sunday. The club didn't clarify who will be participating in the new conference and the reasons for the postponement are also unclear.

Union have so far not said who will replace Bjelica in the three games he won't be allowed to be on the sidelines.

The fact that the Bjelica is unable to coach the team in these important matches "is of course not helpful," Zingler said.

"In the relegation battle, it's all about keeping your nerve and doing everything you can to support the team in the fight for the points needed to stay in the league. I expect that from the entire club, all employees and especially the coaches," he added.

Union are currently 15th, three points away from the drop zone. They have a game in hand against Mainz, which was originally to take place on January 19 but was cancelled due to the wintry weather conditions.

The match was rescheduled for February 7.