Borussia Monchengladbach coach Marco Rose has apologised on behalf of the club after Marcus Thuram was sent off for spitting in the face of Hoffenheim's Stefan Posch.
Thuram was shown a straight red card with 11 minutes remaining as Hoffenheim came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Gladbach in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
The red card came after an intervention by VAR, as the initial action had not been spotted by the officials on the pitch.
Thuram’s red card came four minutes after Andrej Kramaric had levelled the scores for Hoffenheim, who went on the claim the win through Ryan Sessegnon, who is on loan at the club from Tottenham.
The France international forward - the son of 1998 World Cup winner Lilian Thuram - had a good disciplinary record prior to the game, as it was his first red card for the club.
Rose fronted up to the media after the game and issued an apology, saying the only explanation was that Thuram “must have blown a fuse.”
Speaking after the game, Rose said: “On behalf of the club and personally as head coach, I would like to apologise for the red-card incident involving Marcus Thuram.
“It is completely out of line and has no place on the football pitch.
“Marcus is a good person, is self-reflecting and has been well raised. He must have blown a fuse in that moment - it’s the only explanation for his behaviour. I apologise for that. He has done his team a disservice.
“We’re conceding avoidable goals at the moment. It doesn’t feel good to come away with a defeat.”
Rose’s Hoffenheim counterpart Sebastian Hoeness added: “I accept Marco Rose’s apology for Marcus Thuram’s action on behalf of the club - good on him for saying it publicly.”
Thuram followed his manager's lead and issued a statement on Twitter apologising for his actions, saying it was out of character and accidental.
"Today something took place that is not in my character and must never happen again,” he said. ”I reacted to an opponent in a wrong way and something occurred accidentally and not intentionally.
“I apologise to everyone, to Stefan Posch, to my opponents, to my team-mates, to my family and to all those who saw my reaction.
“Of course, I accept all of the consequences of my gesture.”
The defeat continued a poor run of form for Gladbach. It was their sixth game on the spin without a win, and they will hope for a pre-Christmas confidence boost when they face Elversberg in the German Cup on Tuesday.
Gladbach are still in the Champions League and will take on Manchester City in the round of 16 when the competition resumes in February.