Suspended Frankfurt defender Varela hits back over tattoo

BERLIN (AP) - Uruguayan defender Guillermo Varela has hit back at Eintracht Frankfurt after he was suspended and fined by the club for getting a tattoo against the coach's wishes.

Varela, who is on loan at Frankfurt from Manchester United to the end of the season, tells the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, "I've been nailed to the cross as if I'd violently attacked the coach or done something else."

Frankfurt said on Wednesday that the 24-year-old Varela defied Niko Kovac on Monday when he got a tattoo that became infected. He played in the side's last four league games and was likely to feature on Saturday in the German Cup final before he got the infection.

"This behavior is grossly negligent and harms the whole team," Frankfurt sporting director Fredi Bobic said. "Guillermo's path at Eintracht is ended with this action. The club cannot tolerate that a player goes against the coach and doctor's advice before such an important game."

Varela tells the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper he is not the only Frankfurt player to have gotten a tattoo before the final and that his name has been "besmirched."

"I wonder what Real Madrid would have to do with Sergio Ramos. He gets tattooed every week," he said. "I can't explain why I've been punished so hard."

Varela says he would "never do anything to harm my team."