Bayern Munich have surprisingly suspended captain Oliver Kahn for their final Bundesliga game of the year and fined him 25,000 euros (36,600 US dollars) for "disciplinary reasons".

The 38-year-old misses the game at Hertha Berlin on Saturday, on top of the fine handed out by Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, with no explanation given as to what Kahn did tn warrant such sanctions.

A press release issued by the German giants on Tuesday simply stated Kahn had been suspended, fined on "disciplinary grounds" and the matter had been dealt with internally.

But possibly the reason behind Hitzfeld's tough stance can be linked to Kahn's comments on Monday.

After Bayern drew 0-0 with strugglers Duisburg on Saturday, Kahn was typically harsh with a thinly-veiled attack on his colleagues’ French midfielder Franck Ribery, who joined from Marseille, and Italian striker Luca Toni, who joined from Fiorentina.

"There are one or two here who need to realise that two or three good games is not enough," Kahn told German magazine Kicker on Monday.

"Bayern are not Marseille or Fiorentina, we arc more like Milan, Real, Manchester United or Barcelona.

"They have to be far mo re consistent."

And according to Die Welt news-paper, Kahn left Bayern's Christmas celebrations in Munich too early for Hitzfeld's liking.

Kahn will retire from the Bundesliga at the end of this season having first joined Bayern in 1994.