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."
Defender Clemens Fritz will also sit out the trip to the Allianz Arena next weekend after he was booked for the 10th time this season.
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."
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