Emerse Fae has branded Steve Coppell "stupid" after the Reading boss banned the midfielder and team-mate Ibrahima Sonko for two weeks.Fae and centre-back Sonko will not feature again this season as the Royals battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League after refusing to play for the reserves against Tottenham on Monday.

Sonko missed the start of the season through injury and has struggled to recapture the form that made him a Madejski Stadium hero while Fae has made only three first-team starts following a £2.5million move from Nantes last summer.

It is believed the players did not want to risk picking up injuries that could prevent them playing for their countries.

Coppell said: "I want people here who are committed to the club, not themselves," but Fae has launched a scathing attack on his manager's stance.

"It's not clever to suspend your own players - that's stupid," he told The Sun. "The sanction is too heavy. Axing two players from your own struggling team is not coherent at all.

"I refused to play for the reserves. They said 'okay, let's meet on Thursday' and in the meantime I get a letter saying I'm axed. They're not courageous enough to tell me things man-to-man."

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