Viktor Skripnik was left fuming by Zlatko Junuzovic's decision to intentionally earn a yellow card so he would miss Weder Bremen's next outing against Bayern Munich through suspension.
The Austrian got a one-match ban for an accumulation of bookings when he had his name taken with five minutes of the 4-1 win over Hannover remaining on Saturday.
Junuzovic hinted after the game he set out to get carded to ensure he was back for the match against Mainz – considered a more winnable contest – on March 19, telling Sky: "It was agreed, I admit it."
Ukrainian coach Skripnik says he knew nothing about Junuzovic's intention and was frustrated the match against the Bundesliga leaders had been treated as a foregone conclusion by his relegation-threatened side.
"For us, even games against a team like Bayern are important," Skripnik said.
"In such games, our team can still develop. I do not know what the players coordinate with each other, but when they decide for themselves to get a ban, I think that is wrong.
"I had quite a few critical words for Zladdi [Junuzovic] in the dressing room. It will be more difficult without two high performers, but we still want to do well."
