Franz Beckenbauer has stepped into the ring in Germany's battle of the goalkeepers to call for sanctions against Jens Lehmann, who claimed he should replace Oliver Kahn as the national side's first choice.

Arsenal's Lehmann has stirred controversy in the soccer-mad country not only by saying he was the best and should be picked but also by criticising Kahn's lifestyle.

"Lehmann's statements are cheeky, uncooperative and in bad taste," said Beckenbauer, the president of Kahn's club Bayern Munich.

"(Germany coach) Rudi Voeller has to consider this carefully and act accordingly," the World Cup-winning captain and coach wrote in a column in Friday's mass-circulation Bild daily.

Beckenbauer was the Germany coach when he had to face a similar situation at the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico.

Harald (Toni) Schumacher was then Germany's number one and reserve Uli Stein, out of frustration, verbally attacked Beckenbauer, who dropped him from the team and sent him home.

Voeller said on Thursday that he would travel to London over the next couple of weeks to talk to Lehmann but would not be drawn on whether he might take sanctions.

DIFFICULT RELATIONSHIP

Reserve goalkeeper Lehmann and Kahn, the undisputed number one, make no secret of their difficult relationship.

"I didn't know we were supposed to talk," Lehmann told Thursday's issue of soccer magazine Kicker when asked why the two did not speak to each other. "I don't have a 24-year-old girlfriend. I have a different life."

Lehmann was referring to Kahn's affair with a Munich barmaid which started when his wife was pregnant and made headlines in Germany for weeks.

"I am deeply hurt by Lehmann's statements," said Kahn, who plans to carry on until the 2006 World Cup finals on home soil. "This is as low as it can get."

Kahn, at 34 the same age as Lehmann, was Germany's number two goalkeeper for years and had to wait until Andreas Koepke retired after the 1998 World Cup in France to become the number one.

The problem for Lehmann is that he might be regarded as too old to take over by the time Kahn ends his international career.

Both are world class goalkeepers and Lehmann would probably be first choice in many countries but Kahn, the Bayern and Germany captain, has the advantage of being regarded as a true leader and a great motivator.