Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Moenchengladbach say Breel Embolo will face Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Friday amid police allegations he attended a party last weekend despite the coronavirus lockdown in Germany.
“Breel will be there against Dortmund,” said Gladbach coach Marco Rose with his team just a point behind Dortmund in the league table.
“Hopefully, we will find all the ways and means to get to the truth.
“I believe that Breel’s lawyers will do that now.”
The 23-year-old Swiss striker was dropped for Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Werder Bremen following allegations he attended a party in Essen last Saturday night which broke Germany’s lockdown rules.
Police say he was one of 23 people found at a restaurant when officers investigated a noise disturbance late Saturday.
All those at the party are facing police fines.
Gladbach dropped Embolo “as a precautionary measure” after he had contact with people outside the team.
On Monday, Embolo put out a statement denying he was at the party and claimed he was watching basketball at a friend’s house near the restaurant.
Embolo said he regrets travelling to Essen, behaviour Rose branded “completely senseless” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, there could be further consequences as police are contradicting Embolo’s version of events.
Officers say a man was seen leaving the party via a window and running across the building’s roof to an adjacent building, where police found Embolo.
“We therefore assume that the man who fled over the roof is Embolo,” a police spokesman told AFP subsidiary SID on Wednesday.
The German Football League (DFL) is also likely to follow the case having recently appealed for players and clubs to act responsibly during the pandemic.
For now, Embolo’s team-mates are standing by him.
“Internally, we have a very honest relationship and he assured us he wasn’t at the party,” said Gladbach midfielder Christoph Kramer.
Rose is set to have a few options up front at home to Dortmund, who are winless in their last two games following a draw against struggling Mainz and midweek defeat at second-placed Leverkusen.
Alongside Embolo, Gladbach are set to welcome back France striker Marcus Thuram from suspension after a spitting incident last month.
