Source: PA
Roger Schmidt's touchline ban draws criticism from Bundesliga bosses
Bayer Leverkusen travel to Mainz without their head coach Roger Schmidt this Sunday after he was hit with a three-game touchline ban for his refusal to move to the stands during the defeat to Borussia Dortmund last weekend.Schmidt apologised for being "a bit too stubborn" after the referee took drastic action and ordered the teams off the field of play for almost 10 minutes until Schmidt obeyed.The ban has nevertheless drawn criticism from some of Schmidt's Bundesliga coaching colleagues ahead of the latest round of Bundesliga matches when their conduct is going to be under particular scrutiny."I think it's pretty harsh and I've got to say that I can understand my colleague for getting worked up," said Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia, whose side host Ingolstadt, on Kicker.de."I don't think the referee did enough to take some of the tension out of the situation."Hannover coach Thomas Schaaf, who is arguably under more pressure than any coach currently in the Bundesliga with his side heading to Stuttgart on Saturday on an eight-game losing streak, also feels Schmidt has been hard done by."He did something wrong, but he didn't insult or attack anybody," Schaaf told the Kreiszeitung Syke."We coaches have tried for many years to improve our relationship with the referees by making suggestions for how things can be made easier for them, but it's all been practically ignored."Schaaf may have greater concerns if he fails to turn around his side's form this Saturday with his place on the Hannover bench for future games hanging in the balance with a gap of eight points already between them and safety.He is not the only coach under pressure with Werder Bremen's Viktor Skripnik feeling the heat ahead of his side's clash with Darmstadt, whose away record this season is bettered only by the top two Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.Bayern travel to Wolfsburg on Saturday while Dortmund host Hoffenheim on Sunday.Borussia Monchengladbach head to Augsburg in one of four fixtures being played on Sunday due to the involvement of German clubs in the Europa League on Thursday, with Eintracht Frankfurt's fixture with Schalke the final game being played this weekend on Sunday evening.Schalke coach Andre Breitenreiter is also in the firing line following the Royal Blues' shock 3-0 defeat at home to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League on Thursday and he will be particularly keen to see his side bounce straight back this weekend.