'Emotional' confrontation with Jobe Bellingham family sparks Borussia Dortmund policy change as director denies relationship breakdown

Dortmund bottled their two-goal lead to draw against St. Pauli to end up with a 3-3 draw in their opening league game of the season. Bellingham's family flew in to watch his debut game but were left upset to see him substituted early. Moreover, Jobe's father, Mark, was reportedly also unhappy with Niko Kovac's uncreative playing style and had a heated discussion with the club's sporting director, Sebastian Kehl.

Bellingham's father and a few family members made their way to the player's locker room with the help of security, where the confrontation with Kehl took place. The family members voiced their complaints about the tactical decisions and Jobe's early substitution. While Ricken emphasised that there was no problem and the situation was resolved peacefully, he asserted that he would take measures to prevent such instances from happening in the future.

In an interview with Sky, the Dortmund boss said: "We got Jobe Bellingham because we really built a relationship of trust with the parents over the years. Now the family flew in especially for their son's first Bundesliga game and wanted to meet Jobe after the game. They stood in the hallway to the locker room and had an emotional conversation with Sebastian, which, however, is not a problem at all given this relationship."

He further added: "In the future, we will ensure that players, coaches, and any officials have access to the locker room area, so that we no longer get into trouble by commenting on such news. But today everything has been resolved – no drama."

Dortmund are planning to make a double swoop for Chelsea's Carney Chukwuemeka and Aaron Anselmino ahead of their next match against Union Berlin on August 31.