"Bayer 04 have nothing at all to do with the events back then. The club will be hit hard by the punishment both on the pitch and financially," said Calhanoglu. "Therefore, it's clear to me that I don't want to damage the club any further and I will forego my wages for the whole time I'm banned from playing."
In accordance with his contract, Calhanoglu will continue to train with the Bayer 04 Leverkusen first team. Even without playing in competitive matches he will endeavour to support his team-mates as best he can as a full member of the squad. Furthermore, Bayer 04 will stand by the player completely in all matters – primarily with maintaining his ability to play.
In addition, advice will be taken with regard to Calhanoglu lodging an appeal against the CAS verdict with the support of the club. Bayer 04 are not entitled to take legal action as the proceedings related to the player and not the club.
The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-3 loss at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 33 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Down to fifth from fourth place despite taking an early lead: in the head-to-head for a Champions League spot, Bayer 04 were 1-0 up at VfB Stuttgart with just a minute played thanks to an Aleix Garcia strike, but ultimately lost 3-1 (2-1) to the more determined hosts. It meant the Swabians leapfrogged the Werkself in the Bundesliga table on the penultimate matchday.
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Today sees Bayer 04 go head-to-head with their next direct rivals in the race for Champions League qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST). Opponents Stuttgart are currently fifth in the table, level on points with the Werkself but one place below them due to a three-goal inferior goal difference. The Black and Reds' record at Bad Cannstatt tells a clearer story: they've not lost at VfB for over 16 years. One important factor in securing what would be three crucial points away from home is Leverkusen's strength on the counter-attack. Whilst Stuttgart are also extremely dangerous going forward, they will be without their captain. Today’s matchday news.
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