Ouwejan suspended from professional training for a week
Schalke professional Thomas Ouwejan has been suspended from training with the second division professionals for the coming week due to his behavior following his early substitution in the 3:5 (0:3) defeat at Fortuna Düsseldorf. Instead, the full-back will train with FC Schalke 04's regional league team for the next few days. The 27-year-old Dutchman was also fined, although the second-division club did not provide any further details on Sunday.
Ouwejan was substituted on Saturday evening together with Lino Tempelmann and Dominick Drexler in the 33rd minute with the score at 0:3. He then refused to give coach Karel Geraerts the customary handshake and caused an altercation on the sidelines. "Respect for the club, the fans, my team-mates and the staff is very important to me. That's why I can't accept this behavior and this sanction is unavoidable," said Geraerts on Sunday.
According to the club, Ouwejan had already apologized to Schalke's sporting management on Saturday. Nevertheless, sporting director André Hechelmann was still angry on Sunday. "When a player behaves like that after such a poor team performance, it shows that he has not understood the situation we are in," Hechelmann scolded.
Ouwejan's suspension from Bundesliga 2 training will not prevent him from practicing with FC Schalke 04's regional league team during this period. Despite his suspension and fine, Ouwejan will still miss playing in Bundesliga 2 matches for FC Schalke 04's first team, as his suspension is only for the club's professional training squad.
Source: www.dpa.com
