WERDER Bremen directors are set to meet Diego's father and agent on Monday in a bid to resolve the dispute over the Brazilian's participation in the Olympics.
Club heads will sit down with Djair da Cunha to see if the two parties can reach an agreement over the saga which has overshadowed Bremen's preparations for the new season.
The playmaker was called up by Brazil's Under-23 coach Dunga last week for the Beijing Games in August only for Bremen coach Klaus Allofs to block the move.
Diego's participation in China would rule him out of the start of the Bundesliga campaign.
"The decision on Diego`s participation in the Olympic Games in Beijing will happen on Monday when there will be a meeting between the directors of Werder Bremen and father of the midfielder", read a statement on the player's official website, www.diego10.com.br.
The Brazilian Football Confederation have already urged Bremen to follow FIFA regulations and release the 23-year-old.
World football's governing body released a statement last week confirming it would be "mandatory" for clubs to release players aged 23 and under for Olympic duty.
"FIFA has already given its opinion and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is aware of the situation, so I believe that everything will end well and Diego will be playing for Brazil in the Olympic Games in Beijing," Diego's manager, Leonardo Scheinkman, added.
Allofs though is determined not to lose his prized playmaker and claimed the German Football Association (DFB) could intervene on Bremen's behalf.
He told the club's official website, www.werder.de: "I have spoken on the phone with DFB general secretary Wolfgang Niersbach, who reported that the DFB will answer an inquiry from the Brazilian FA over the retention of their player with the reasons that the clubs have also given.
"Also there no-one sees any established reason to let him go."
Allofs insisted Diego had a responsibility to Bremen, as they were the club who paid his wages.
He added: "I am responsible that Werder puts out their best possible team. If there is no obligation to release a player, then we will keep Diego here.
"Diego is an A-team national player, very important for us and alongside that not a cheap player either.
"I can understand his personal wish, but we are running professional football, for which there are statutes which one has to accept."
The playmaker was called up by Brazil's Under-23 coach Dunga last week for the Beijing Games in August only for Bremen coach Klaus Allofs to block the move.
Diego's participation in China would rule him out of the start of the Bundesliga campaign.
"The decision on Diego`s participation in the Olympic Games in Beijing will happen on Monday when there will be a meeting between the directors of Werder Bremen and father of the midfielder", read a statement on the player's official website, www.diego10.com.br.
The Brazilian Football Confederation have already urged Bremen to follow FIFA regulations and release the 23-year-old.
World football's governing body released a statement last week confirming it would be "mandatory" for clubs to release players aged 23 and under for Olympic duty.
"FIFA has already given its opinion and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is aware of the situation, so I believe that everything will end well and Diego will be playing for Brazil in the Olympic Games in Beijing," Diego's manager, Leonardo Scheinkman, added.
Allofs though is determined not to lose his prized playmaker and claimed the German Football Association (DFB) could intervene on Bremen's behalf.
He told the club's official website, www.werder.de: "I have spoken on the phone with DFB general secretary Wolfgang Niersbach, who reported that the DFB will answer an inquiry from the Brazilian FA over the retention of their player with the reasons that the clubs have also given.
"Also there no-one sees any established reason to let him go."
Allofs insisted Diego had a responsibility to Bremen, as they were the club who paid his wages.
He added: "I am responsible that Werder puts out their best possible team. If there is no obligation to release a player, then we will keep Diego here.
"Diego is an A-team national player, very important for us and alongside that not a cheap player either.
"I can understand his personal wish, but we are running professional football, for which there are statutes which one has to accept."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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