Thomas Tuchel has leapt to the defence of Sadio Mane after his fight with Leroy Sane, labelling the suspended Bayern Munich star a "top professional".
Mane was involved in a dressing room spat with Sane shortly after Bayern's Champions League defeat by Manchester City at the Etihad. The duo engaged in an on-field argument that continued after full-time, with the former Liverpool star allegedly striking his teammate in the face.
Mane has been banned for Bayern's Bundesliga clash with Hoffenheim, with Sane reportedly telling club officials not to throw the book at his teammate and for them to all put the episode behind them.
Bayern boss Tuchel has now spoken out on behalf of Mane, playing down the incident.
"I'm the first to defend him," Tuchel told the press. "I've known him for so long, I know his environment, I know him exclusively as a top professional. He has never, never, never been guilty of anything.
"Everybody has the right to make a mistake. This was too much and against the code of conduct of the team and FC Bayern. He has clearly admitted it, the apology has taken place. It is absolutely credible. It was important to me that he remained in training."
On the ruckus itself, he added: "I didn't witness the incident myself because I was in the coach's room.
"I didn't hear or overhear anything. I immediately spoke to everyone involved. Because it was a very blatant incident, it was necessary for us to clarify the matter before the next training session and to be clear in our communication with everyone who works here. We have cleared the air so that we can train well together again.
"We're not the first team to have an incident like this and we won't be the last. The way the two people involved handled it had a cleansing effect. We had a positive, energetic atmosphere in training."
Mane and Sane trained together in Munich on Thursday, although kept out of each other's way during the part of the session open to the media.
