Union Berlin manager Nenad Bjelica is handed a three-match ban and is fined £21,000 after he pushed Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sane in the FACE sparking a touchline brawl

Union Berlin coach Nenad Bjelica was banned for three matches and fined £21,351 (€25,000) on Thursday after he shoved Bayern Munich‘s Leroy Sane, the German Football Association (DFB) said.

The Croatian coach was sent off after 74 minutes in Wednesday’s 1-0 Bundesliga loss to Bayern after shoving Sane.

The player had gone to retrieve the ball from Bjelica near the Union bench for a throw-in.

He pushed the ball out of the coach’s hands and Bjelica then put his hands on the Germany international’s face twice, pushing him away.

It sparked unsavoury scenes on the touchline with a brawl erupting between staff and players from both teams.

Sane and Bjelica squared up after the Bayern winger tried to retrieve the ball for a throw-in

Sane was also booked for his role in the incident which marred the tense Bundesliga clash

Tottenham loanee Eric Dier, who had come on after half-time to make his debut for the Bundesliga club, was also seen trying to diffuse the tension by breaking up Sane and Bjelica.

‘Nenad Bjelica was banned for the next three league matches and fined €25,000 for unsporting behaviour,’ the DFB said in a statement.

Following the incident, referee Frank Willenborg showed Bjelica a red card for violent conduct, with the 52-year-old being seen venting his frustrations to several fans as he made his way into the stands. Sane was also shown a yellow card for his role in the altercation. 

When asked whether he would apologise to the 28-year-old, Bjelica said after the match: ‘Only to my team. It’s not tolerating it. Not with Sane. 

‘He comes towards me to provoke me. Of course I don’t react the way I should as a coach. There’s nothing to add.’

‘I’m in my zone and want to give him the ball. He pushed me. Then of course I reacted,’ he added. 

Sane has since broken his silence on the incident, stating to BILD: ‘I actually just want to get the ball back quickly to start the next attack,’ he said.

‘And then it got a bit wild and he grabbed me in the face.’ 

Referee Frank Willenborg showed the Croatian manager a red card for violent conduct

Sane was also booked for his role in the incident which marred the tense Bundesliga clash

Raphael Guerreiro’s second-half strike was the only goal of the game with Bayern winning 1-0

Bayern would go on to claim victory with Rafael Gurreiro capitalising on a defensive mistake to score the winner in the 46th minute. 

After the match, Thomas Tuchel offered his take on the incident, saying: ‘It’s not good. It’s hard to defend him. But I don’t want to say anything about it. I don’t need to add fuel to the fire.’ 

Bjelica, who took over in November, will now miss his team’s Bundesliga matches against Darmstadt 98, RB Leipzig and Mainz 05.

Union, who last year finished fourth to qualify for the Champions League, are currently in 15th place on 14 points, three above the relegation playoff spot.