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Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has hit out at the German media, accusing journalists of "disrespectful reporting."
The Bundesliga champions, who return to action at Wolfsburg on Saturday, have dropped to sixth in the table after taking only one point from their last three matches.
Some Bayern players were criticised for their performances during the international break, with pundits suggesting that older stars such as Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels had become part of Germany's current problems.
That prompted Bayern to hold two Friday news conferences, one with coach Niko Kovac and the other with Hoeness, CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.
Hoeness said it was "time the most important club in Germany took a clear stance" and added that they "will no longer respect disrespectful reporting."
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"I am lost for words [over] what I had to read about Manuel Neuer," Rummenigge said. "If I have to read 'old boys football' about our centre-backs Hummels and Boateng, then I can only say one thing -- are you serious?
"No-one wastes any thoughts on values like dignity and decency. Polemics have no limit any more. This is true for media, pundits and most of all for pundits who once played football here."
But when asked about Bayern's criticism of Mesut Ozil following his withdrawal from the national team, and of Bayer Leverkusen winger Karim Bellarabi -- who made what Hoeness called a "mentally ill" tackle on Rafinha -- the president said he should have chosen his words more carefully.
"In general, there is a difference between a statement I make right after a match and those you write a day or two after the match," he told the news conference.
"Sometimes you are emotional and excited. I should not have said mentally ill, for instance."
Rummenigge, citing the first article of the German Constitution, said: "The dignity of humans is inviolable. I am not sure if there are different laws for football, at least in certain media. But we at Bayern Munich will no longer accept it this way."
Hoeness responded to criticism that Juan Bernat's last-minute transfer to PSG had been a mistake by saying: "The weal and woe of Bayern Munich does not depend on Juan Bernat.
"Let me tell you one thing. When we played in Sevilla [in the Champions League quarterfinals last season], he was solely responsible that we nearly were eliminated.
"On this very day, we decided that we will sell him because he nearly cost us the Champions League and I would have loved to hear your statement on what bull---- he played."
Source: espn.co.uk