Naby Keita Suspension: Reason and Expected Return Date

Werder Bremen punished their midfielder Naby Keita for interdisciplinary conduct after the Guinean refused to travel with the club to Leverkusen. The club suspended Keita until the end of the season along with a significant fine. Keita is neither allowed to get near his teammates to train nor enter the dressing room.

Werder Bremen’s head of professional football, Clemens Fritz admitted that the club couldn’t forgive Keita’s behaviour prior to the title-deciding match against Leverkusen. Die Werderaner ended up losing 5-0 against Leverkusen who eventually lifted their first-ever Bundesliga trophy.

Naby Keita Suspension: Werder Bremen will not tolerate Keita’s behaviour

“As a club, we won’t tolerate Naby’s behaviour,” Fritz said on the club’s announcement. “He let his team down in a time of difficulty surrounding our recent run of form and squad availability and put his own interests above those of the team.

“We can’t allow that. At this stage of the season, we need full focus on the remaining games and a team who stick together. That’s why we’ve been left with no alternative.”

Keita, who came from Liverpool in the summer of 2023, spent more time for treatment than he did on the pitch. He only played 107 minutes in five games across the competitions with not a single goal scored.

With the suspension, Keita will not take any part in Bremen’s five upcoming games. Ole Werner’s squad are still fighting for their place to avoid relegation as they are only five points away from the bottom three.