FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) Werder Bremen captain Clemens Fritz and midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic have been fined for intentionally picking up yellow cards so they would be suspended for Saturday’s Bundesliga match against Bayern Munich.
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The German federation sports tribunal fined both men 20,000 euros (?22,000) for unsportsmanlike behavior, following a hearing Friday.
Werder is fighting against relegation and needs points against lower-ranked opposition, while it is likely to lose in Munich no matter what kind of a lineup it fields.
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Fritz and Junuzovic conceded in interviews after last week’s 4-1 win over Hannover that they were aiming to be suspended for the match in Munich so that they could be available for later games.
Darmstadt had five players suspended for a recent match in Munich but the tribunal could not prove that they intentionally got booked.