Schmidt banned

Bayer Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt has been hit with a three-game touchline ban following unsportsmanlike conduct in the team's 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.

The 48-year-old won't be present in the dugout for Leverkusen's next three Bundesliga matches against Mainz, Werder Bremen and FC Augsburg. If he is penalized once again for misconduct, he could receive an extended two-game suspension before the end of next season. He has been fined 20,000 euros ($22,000).

Schmidt was aggrieved at the manner in which Borussia Dortmund scored the only goal in Sunday's 1-0 defeat in the Bundesliga and refused to leave the technical area after remonstrating with the officials.

Match referee Felix Zwayer made several requests for Schmidt to leave his dugout, even asking captain Stefan Kiessling to pass on the message. But after Schmidt refused, Zwayer took both teams off the pitch for nine minutes until the matter was resolved.

Zwayer "technically made the correct decision after the Dortmund goal," according to Herbert Fandel, the head of the referees' committee. "If a player or even the coach refuses to leave the field after a sending off, the play will be stopped and the threat of a postponement is the right decision."

Schmidt will be prevented from being present in the technical area 30 minutes before and after the match. The Leverkusen coach has agreed to the judgment, according to an official statement from the German FA. Sporting director Rudi Völler has also been charged with misconduct and will need to pay a fine of 10,000 euros.