“I’d take him out of circulation”: an action by Nadiem Amiri leaves Didi Hamann speechless

TV pundit Hamann accused the Mainz international of serious unsporting behaviour and called for a ban.

"I would take him out of the game. He has become an international, has great value for the team. But we have to get these things out of sport. Children are watching, you don't do something like that," Hamann fumed on Sky on Saturday.

So what had happened? Just under an hour had gone in Mönchengladbach. Mainz led 2-1 when the home side won a penalty for handball. Amid the usual jostling before the kick, TV cameras caught Amiri digging at the penalty spot with the studs of his boot.

The officials around referee Robert Hartmann did not spot the Mainz midfielder's action. Whether it affected the miss that followed is pure speculation. Either way, Gladbach defender Kevin Diks smashed the ball against the right-hand post.

Hamann called Amiri's behaviour "grossly unsporting" and said he had "far overstepped a line". The former Bayern star demanded "a one-match ban".

Gladbach did level soon after Diks's miss. New signing Isac Lidberg made it 2-2, before Mainz moved 4-2 ahead through goals from Eric Martel and Danny da Costa shortly before full time. Shuto Machino's converted handball penalty deep into stoppage time, with Amiri already substituted, came too late for Gladbach.

Who will be the new coach at Borussia Mönchengladbach?

After a fourth defeat in their fourth match of the season, Borussia dropped to the bottom of the table, overtaken by Hamburger SV after their first win of the season against 1. FC Köln. In Gladbach, all signs point to Alexander Blessin replacing Eugen Polanski, who was dismissed after the third matchday. On Saturday, interim coach Jan-Moritz Lichte took charge of the five-time German champions.

Whether Amiri will face any consequences for his action remains unclear. Up next for the 29-year-old are the two internationals against the Netherlands and Greece. Amiri is part of the first of two DFB squads named by new Germany coach Jürgen Klopp for the upcoming total of four matches for the German national team.