Werder Bremen in legal action against Olympic runaway Diego

German first division side Werder Bremen have taken the fight to prevent their Brazilian star Diego from going to the Beijing Olympics to a sporting tribunal, the club said on Tuesday.

Last week Werder bosses blocked the 23-year-old star from going to next month's event, saying he was required for league and cup duties.

Diego, who has scored 26 goals in 63 matches since joining in 2006, was unhappy with the ban but at the time said: “I respect the decision of the club, I'm now going to focus on preparing for the new season with Werder.”

But Werder decided to take the affair to a tribunal after it came to light that Diego had left after a meeting with management to join up with the Brazilian Olympic squad in Paris — without the club's approval.

“It's better for all parties to clear up the situation,” said Klaus Allofs, the German team's sporting director.

Werder have also banned their Serbian international Dusko Tosic from the tournament, which runs from August 6 to 23, while another Brazilian player Rafinha has been blocked by German side Schalke 04 but he too has left to join up with the national squad.