Ugly scenes mar Germany
triumph
Germany and Argentina players clashed on the pitch after the hosts'
quarter-final victory in Berlin.
Ex-striker Oliver Bierhoff, now part of the German backroom team,
appeared to be at the centre of the melee.
Fifa officials and referee Lubos Michel were involved, while
Argentina's unused substitute Leandro Cufre was sent off for
unsporting behaviour.
Bierhoff said: "Fans have shown they can get on with each other. We
should be able to do the same as sportsmen."
Punches and kicks appeared to be thrown in chaotic scenes which
went on for approximately 90 seconds in front of a 72,000
crowd.
Bierhoff told German TV that he intervened after Cufre trod on
German defender Per Mertesacker, leaving the player lying on the
ground.
Germany and ourselves have great respect for each other and this
was a thing of the moment
The trouble seemed to start when midfielder Tim Borowski gestured
towards the Argentina players to "keep quiet" having scored his
penalty to make it 4-2 in Germany's favour.
Several of the South American players walked towards him and when
the final Argentina spot-kick was saved, the Argentina defender
Fabricio Coloccini approached Germany's Oliver Neuville.
Punches were thrown in a brief melee before it was broken up.
"It's a shame that in a game like a quarter-final such pictures end
up getting sent around the world," Bierhoff added.
Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann put the trouble down to the
intensity of Germany's dramatic win.
"I'd like to remind people that in football there is so much
tension, so many emotions and if it goes all the way to penalties
someone can lose control," he said.
"Football is just so emotional. It's just normal. It's no big deal,
no problem at all."
And he was backed by Argentine coach Jose Pekerman.
"At times emotions run away with themselves at a match and it's not
what we feel. Germany and ourselves have great respect for each
other and this was a thing of the moment," he said.
