Munich [Germany], April 14 : Bayern Munich's manager Thomas Tuchel finally gave clarity on the biggest question that has been doing the rounds after a thumping defeat against Manchester City in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Former Liverpool player Sadio Mane punched Leroy Sane after losing against Manchester City. Tuchel came forward on Mane's behalf and shed some light on the matter in the pre-match conference on Friday.
"I'm the first to defend him (Mane)," Tuchel told the press. "I've known him for so long, I know his environment, I know him exclusively as a top professional. He has never, never, never been guilty of anything," Tuchel said.
"Everybody has the right to make a mistake. This was too much and against the code of conduct of the team and FC Bayern. He has clearly admitted it, the apology has taken place. It is absolutely credible. It was important to me that he remained in training," Tuchel added.
Tuchel further went on to admit that he didn't witness their encounter himself. After the incident took place he went on to clarify things with both players ahead of their training session.
"I didn't witness the incident myself because I was in the coach's room. I didn't hear or overhear anything. I immediately spoke to everyone involved. Because it was a very blatant incident, it was necessary for us to clarify the matter before the next training session and to be clear in our communication with everyone who works here. We have cleared the air so that we can train well together again," Tuchel continued.
"We're not the first team to have an incident like this and we won't be the last. The way the two people involved handled it had a cleansing effect. We had a positive, energetic atmosphere in training," Tuchel concluded.
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