Cologne to punish Lukas Podolski

FC Koln striker Lukas Podolski looks set to come in for some punishment after an outspoken interview with German press. Podolski told reporters that he will quit Cologne at the end of the year.

"Of course such a high-profile player has every right to speak out publicly, but we are surprised about the timing and the content of an interview on the day in which we had a very important game against Hamburg," Claus Horstmann the FC Koln GM said.


"The interview had not been agreed with us, nor had we authorised its publication.


"It has been released by Lukas' personal management and our recommendations have not been followed. He has therefore knowingly broken rules set down in his contract.


"Remarks about the club must always be authorised by the club. There is no place in the world for a player, who is injured, who is not in the squad and who is always demanding calm, to give such an interview."