German Football Association president Theo Zwanziger has questioned the sincerity of Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack's apology to national team boss Joachim Loew.

"The apology has taken the edge off the conflict. And at least it has now been clarified that the mistake clearly lay with our captain," Zwanziger told Die Welt.

"Now we certainly have to face the question: How reasonable is Michael Ballack? Is the apology only tactics or is it really meant honestly?"