Kovac comes in support of Samuele Inacio after Hamburg red card

Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac has come out in support of Samuele Inacio following his red card in Saturday's game.

The Italian was sent off for a challenge on Bakery Jatta in the 77th minute that left his team to play the last few minutes of the game with a man down.

Dortmund, who already were 2-0 up by then, managed to hold on to their lead and secure all three points in their first game of the Bundesliga season.

However, the 18-year-old came under fire for hurling a water bottle at Dortmund's logo inside the tunnel on his way back to the dressing room.

The clip of his angry reaction drew a lot of flak from the fans, who felt it was disrespectful of him to do that. Kovac, though, feels the incident is now being taken to a higher paltform.

In his press conference ahead of their DFB-Pokal clash, he said:

Why don’t we talk about the people who see it different? We need to learn not to give them a platform. So, for my young boy, let’s focus on the positive aspects. The lad is 18 years old – nothing major has happened. We don’t need to blow something out of proportion that isn’t worth blowing out of proportion. Quite honestly, we’re all heading in the wrong direction here. I have no sympathy for that.

Inacio, who burst onto the scene with Dortmund earlier this year, had only been on the pitch for just three minutes after replacing Konstantinos Karetsas, but saw his night cut short with a mistimed tackle.

He's now been suspended for two Bundesliga games, and will be missing their trip to Hoffenheim on 5 September while also sitting out of their home game against promoted side Paderborn on 12 September.

Will Inacio play in the DFB-Pokal tonight?

As his suspension applies only to league matches, Samuele Inacio is available for selection for tonight's DFB-Pokal match against fifth-tier HEBC.

Head coach Niko Kovac is expected to make a raft of changes to his XI but has said a few players would continue and Inacio could be one of them.

With Giannis Konstantelias out for several months with a torn ACL, Inacio could be handed a start alongside Konstantinos Karetsas off lone striker Fabio Silva.

It would be a great opportunity for the youngster to right the wrongs of Saturday with an impressive display in Hamburg.