MANCHESTER UNITED loanee Guillermo Varela has threatened legal action against Eintracht Frankfurt over his tattoo ban.
The defender on loan at the Bundesliga club was not allowed to play in yesterday’s German Cup final loss to Dortmund after going against orders.
Frankfurt bosses told the 24-year-old to not get inked on his arm – and not only did he ignore them, it got infected which meant he could not play.
And the club furiously reacted, not allowing him to join his team-mates at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin for the showpiece final.
The Uruguayan was fined £61,000 and was told to return to Manchester – but he is certainly not going back without a fight.
In an interview with Suddeutsche Zeitung, he revealed he is considering legal action over the tattoo, which he described as “not very big”.
He said: “My name is polluted. I wonder what Real Madrid should do with Sergio Ramos, who is tattooing every week.
“I cannot explain why I’m being so severely punished, and I’m not the only Eintracht professional to get a tattoo before the final, but only I was nailed to the cross for going against the manager.
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“Before the 2016 FA Cup final [against Crystal Palace], we went out with several players and got a tattoo, and then we won. Now I wanted to repeat that because it brought us so much luck with Manchester.”
He had an angel tattooed last year before the FA Cup final, and this time he went for La Catrina, a face of a woman which is a symbol from Mexico’s “Day of the Dead”.
While only playing 10 times this season in his loan move, he featured in the last five matches before the final, meaning he was in line to play.
But Frankfurt’s sporting director Fredi Bobic was vehement in his reasoning for Varela’s ban.
He said: “The club cannot tolerate that a player would defy instructions. He hurt the team.
"There was redness around where he had the tattoo, and blisters formed meaning he was unable to train.
"We'd been thinking about a loan extension. But that won't happen. He'll be suspended with immediate effect."
Former Eintracht Frankfurt player and manager Rudi Bommer also described Varela's actions as "unprofessional and embarrassing".
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