Domestic grief for Kehl

BV Borussia Dortmund defender Sebastien Kehl has been handed a six-week domestic ban for accosting a referee.

Long suspension
The 22-year-old was shown the red card after he appeared to make contact with referee Jürgen Aust after his team-mate Otto Addo was sent off in added time during Dortmund's 4-2 defeat against Hamburger SV in the German League Cup final on Monday. Kehl will now not be able to play in Bundesliga matches and domestic cup ties until 8 September.

Defensive blow
The ban comes as a further blow to Dortmund coach Matthias Sammer who is resigned to being without injured German international defender Christoph Metzelder for the start of the season. Torsten Frings and Evanilson are also long-term absentees.