Freund is fined for team spirit jibe

Kaiserslautern have fined Steffen Freund after their former Tottenham midfielder claimed team spirit was at an all-time low.

Having been recently told there is no room for him in the Kaiserslautern first team, Freund made unwelcome revelations in an interview with the newspaper Bild.

Freund, also a former German international, told the newspaper: “The team is internally broken.

“There’s a lack of loyalty, team spirit and respect.

“All new arrivals in the past two years have had the problem, which they won’t accept.

“Many things are going wrong, which I had wanted to change – but in vain.”

After some disappointing performances, 34-year-old Freund was dropped to the reserve team earlier in January and advised to find a new club if he wished to continue playing regularly.

Kaiserslautern reacted to his comments by imposing the financial punishment, hitting the veteran player in the pocket.

They have not disclosed how much Freund has been fined, but club president Rene C Jaggi hinted that he has been hit hard.

“With this juicy penalty, there should be an indication that we do not accept such verbal attacks from our employees under any circumstances,” said Jaggi.

Freund’s contract at Kaiserslautern, who are 15th in the 18-team Bundesliga, expires on June 30.