Grosskreutz: Let's skewer kebab jokes

Germany midfielder Kevin Grosskreutz has called for an end to jokes about the incidents in which he allegedly threw a kebab at a Cologne fan and urinated in a hotel foyer.

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The Borussia Dortmund player said people should move on and stressed that he had apologised for what happened.

He denied intending to throw the kebab at the man, who he claimed had heckled him near a kebab stand.

In an interview with the German FA website before the opening Group G game against Portugal, Gorsskreutz was asked whether he was glad that there were no kebabs at the Germany team HQ in Brazil.

He replied: "You know what? I don't think that's very funny at all. And there's also no hotel lobby here either -- that's probably going to be your next question."

After Dormund had been defeated by Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal final last month, Grosskreutz urinated in the lobby of a Berlin hotel. He later said he had drunk too much following the match.

"Everything that needs to be said about the subject has been said," he told the DFB site.

"I don't think I have any right to play these things down, but I will not allow my mistakes to be ridiculed. I disappointed some people, my family and myself, but I can't do any more than apologise -- and I have done that.

"I'd rather talk about sport, about football and about the World Cup. Those are the things I want to talk about."

Germany team spokesman Jens Grittner defended the interview, saying it had not been intended to ridicule Grosskreutz.

"That's not the case at all," he said. "It shows the DFB website is not a whitewashed site. It was a serious opportunity for Kevin to clear up, once and for all, that in the future he'd like to talk about football.

"This wasn't about making fun of anyone, and I'd like to urge you in the media to be a little relaxed about stuff like this."