Berlin - Former Germany international Kevin Grosskreutz has been sacked by Stuttgart after a late-night brawl left him hospitalised earlier this week.
The 28-year-old former Borussia Dortmund defender drew the ire of his German second-division club after reportedly taking three youth team players with him on a night out which ended in a mass brawl.
Grosskreutz hit the back of his head on the pavement during an altercation that resulted in the arrest of four suspects.
"I have made an error and I have apologised for that. I accept the consequences and regret that my time at VfB has ended this way," an emotional Grosskreutz said in a hastily arranged press conference.
"I don't want anything to do with football for the time being," he added.
The incident marks a spectacular fall from grace for Grosskreutz, who was an unused member of Germany's 2014 World Cup-winning squad.
"Players from the first team have a particular function as role models for the club as a whole, but above all for our young players," said Stuttgart sporting director Jan Schindelmeiser.
Grosskreutz won the Bundesliga twice during a successful six-year stint with Dortmund and also played in its 2013 Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich at Wembley.