Bayern to slap Ribery with meaty fine after foul-mouthed social media rant over steak backlash

Bayern Munich intend to punish Franck Ribery for his foul-mouthed social media tirade at online critics who called the player out for ordering a $1,200 gold-coated steak at a restaurant in Dubai run by celebrity chef Salt Bae.

Ribery hit out at his detractors online, issuing a social media statement on Saturday in which he wrote that "he owes them nothing," among other choice words. 

However, the rant hasn't gone down well with the Bayern Munich hierarchy. Former Bayern player and now sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic, confirmed on Sunday that the club will take disciplinary action against the France international as a result of his social media outburst.

"I had a long talk with Franck and I let him know that we would impose a heavy fine on him and he accepted it," Salihamidzic said to the media in Qatar, the base for Bayern Munich's winter training camp.

"He used words that we, FC Bayern, cannot accept and that Franck does not have the right to use, as a role-model and player of FC Bayern."

The steak ordered by Ribery, as well as its eye-watering price tag, drew extreme criticism online before the midfielder responded.

"For 2019, let’s dot the i’s and cross the t’s...," he wrote via translation. "Let’s start with the jealous, the haters, those only born because a condom had a hole in: f*** your mothers, your grandmothers and even your family tree. I owe you nothing.

"My success is, above all, thanks to God, me, and my loved ones who believed in me. For the others, you’re nothing but pebbles in my socks!”

Salihamidzic explained further, saying that Ribery did not pay for the dish and had been invited as a guest to restaurant. He noted that the message came after Ribery had been responding to a series of insulting messages. 

READ MORE: Bayern chief Rummenigge defends club's link to Qatar after fan protests

Sections of the German media, including noted publication Bild, have called for the club to suspend the player, who comes to the end of his current Bayern contract at the end of the season.

This latest controversy comes on the heels of further criticism aimed at the club for their sponsorship deals with Qatari-based companies amid concerns about human rights violations in the Gulf state.