Germany

Diego And Rafinha Refused Olympic Permission

Werder Bremen and Schalke have refused permission for their respective players Diego and Rafinha to join up with the Brazilian Olympic squad.

Jul 8, 2008 7:23:29 PM

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Diego, Brazil (PA)

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Both players were nominated by Brazilian coach Carlos Dunga on Monday, but the Bundesliga clubs have refused to release their players for the Beijing Olympic football tournament.

The two clubs have repeated previous statements that the players will not be allowed to join up with their countries and miss vital Bundesliga matches at the start of the season.

Midfielder Diego and full back Rafinha had both previously admitted that they would dearly love to represent their country in China this summer.

Despite their refusal to allow Diego to join the squad, Werder do not expect any sanctions to follow from Fifa as a result.

“It's clear that if we don't release Diego, we won't face any sanctions” Bremen general manager Klaus Allofs Allofs said.

A number of top Bundesliga clubs have been trying to persuade their players not to take up the opportunity of playing in the Olympics with Bayern Munich amongst them. Last season’s double winners refused to allow Martin Demichelis, Lucio and Mark van Bommel to represent their respective nations.

They have however granted permission for younger squad players such as Breno and Jose Ernesto Sosa to join up.

“Naturally it's not good to miss part of the preparations for the start of the Bundesliga season" Sosa said.

“But for us Argentines, it's unbelievably important to play for our country.”

Mathew Burt