Borussia Dortmund are denying reports that Jadon Sancho being late for a team meeting was the reason why he was named as a substitute for their clash with Barcelona in the Champions League.
Sancho came on to score for the Bundesliga side in the 77th minute at the Nou Camp during the 3-1 defeat on Wednesday.
"Barcelona is a difficult game, we need players on the pitch who are focused and ready, and we looked and decided on this starting eleven," said Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre when discussing Sancho not starting their penultimate game in Group F.
The 19-year-old England international was previously substituted by the Dortmund head coach after 36 minutes in Dortmund's 4-0 defeat away at Bayern on November 9, because Favre believed Sancho was having a poor game.
He was also dropped and fined by Dortmund ahead of their 1-0 win over top-of-the-table Borussia Monchengladbach in October after he was late coming back from international duty.
Sancho has six goals and nine assists in 18 games in all competitions for the German side so far this term and has directly contributed to more Bundesliga goals than any other Dortmund player this season (10).
The winger has been linked with moves to various European clubs including Chelsea and Real Madrid, amid rumours that the youngster has developed a fractious relationship with Dortmund boss Favre this season.
Sancho also was named runner-up in the 2019 Golden Boy award this week, missing out to Atletico Madrid and Portugal starlet Joao Felix.
Dortmund, who are currently sixth in the German top-flight, are joint-second in Champions League Group F, level on points with Inter Milan, ahead of their final group clash with Slavia Prague on December 10.
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