Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich was the subject of a minor social media controversy after the Bavarians’ stunning exit in the DFB-Pokal at the hands of third-tier FC Saarbrücken on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old Bayern captain took heat after he was seen apparently declining a jersey request from a Saarbrücken youth player who had served as ballboy for the match.
However, the player — 17-year-old Vakkas Sahan — explained to Tz that he was not in fact refused by Kimmich.
“My phone has been vibrating and I got sent videos all the time. It’s crazy how the situation has been portrayed. It wasn’t like that at all – and I don’t want Kimmich to have to suffer because of it,” Sahan said in comments captured by Tz journalist Philipp Kessler (via @iMiaSanMia). “I went over to him and asked him for his shirt because I like him as a footballer. He said he’d give it to me in the dressing room. As a youth player, unfortunately I wasn’t allowed into the dressing room. Such a great player was put in a bad light — people just don’t know what really happened. I wanted to straighten things out, so I tried to contact him. I then got in touch with his management through his homepage.”
According to Tz, Sahan will be getting his shirt after all.
If you’re not done wallowing in the misery of this loss, you can check out our postgame review/rant about Thomas Tuchel and the state of Bayern Munich at the moment. Listen to it below or on Spotify.
As always, we appreciate all the support.
