Bayern Munich Fine Franck Ribery for Foul-Mouthed Rant over Gold-Covered Steak

Bayern Munich have heavily fined Franck Ribery "for his choice of words used on social platforms" after responding in a foul-mouthed manner to those who criticised him for ordering a gold-covered steak.

Ribery recently posted a video of his visit to Nusr-Et in Dubai, a restaurant owned by Nusret Gokce, the chef otherwise known as Salt Bae who has become famous on social media. The former France international was criticised by some for eating a gilded steak reportedly worth up to €1,200 (£1,070):

ESPN provided a translation of the NSFW response (in French) posted on Instagram, where he defended his actions in a scathing fashion:

"For 2019, let's dot the i's and cross the t's... Let's start with the jealous, the haters, those only born because a condom had a hole in: f--k 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!"

Bayern responded via the club's official website and said their player had been invited to try the steak, but the club imposed a fine for his explicit response. Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic explained the decision: "[Ribery] stood up for his family and fought back but in a manner not approved of by FC Bayern."

AFP provided more detail on the events that led to Ribery's fine:

The 35-year-old is well-known as a fiery character on the pitch, and the direct nature of his reply shows that maintains his temperament on social media too.

Still, Bayern are aware of the responsibility Ribery—with 3.9 million Instagram followers and more than 219,000 Twitter followers—has as a role model to those following him online.

Ribery looks set to leave the Allianz Arena when his contract expires in the summer, but he will hope to move past his fine and pick up his Bundesliga form where he left it before Christmas after scoring four goals in his last three games.