Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been expelled from the Borussia Dortmund squad for Friday evening’s trip to VfB Stuttgart and he claims he has no idea why.
The day before the match, Dortmund confirmed that Aubameyang had been suspended for “disciplinary reasons” but refused to go into any further detail.
The Bundesliga club only divulged the vague reason for Aubameyang’s suspension in response to a Tweet sent by a fan, asking why the Gabon striker hadn’t been included in the squad for the Stuttgart game…
.@Aubameyang7 wurde aus disziplinarischen Gründen für das morgige Spiel aus dem Kader gestrichen. #vfbbvb https://t.co/GoY4cZvskO
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) November 16, 2017
Reports in the German press have claimed that Aubameyang has been dropped by coach Peter Bosz after repeatedly turning up late for training, specifically arriving 20 minutes late for Bosz’s final pre-Stuttgart preparation session.
There are also suggestions that certain Dortmund higher-ups were riled by the forward’s unsanctioned trip to Barcelona during the international break.
He certainly does have previous in that regard, having been forced to sit out of a Champions League game against Sporting Lisbon last year after toddling off to Milan without telling anybody.
However, Auba is adamant that he really doesn’t know what he’s being punished for this time round, telling BILD:
I didn’t turn up late for training. After my trip to Milan I could understand my suspension because I ignored an announcement that time.
This time I really can’t understand it.
Elsewhere, Der Westen have quoted a source inside the Dortmund team who has bemoaned Aubameyang’s “numerous lapses” in discipline, his “constant” tardiness and the fact that he “considers himself untouchable”.
Think we’ve all played with a striker like that, no?