Dedryck Boyata has insisted he was "explaining a set-piece" to Marko Grujic after breaking social distancing guidelines in which he appeared to plant a kiss on his Hertha Berlin team-mate.
German football returned behind closed doors on Saturday with a number of measures in place to protect against the coronavirus outbreak.
Players emerged from the tunnel wearing protective face masks and there were no handshakes or pre-game photographs as Bundesliga bosses aim to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus.
And crucially, as Hertha Berlin's Boyata forgot during the heat of the match, players are prohibited from celebrating as a team and have been asked to keep their distance when not in action.
But during Hertha Berlin's 3-0 win away at Hoffenheim, the Belgian international kissed on-loan Liverpool midfielder Grujic on the cheek.
Boyata has responded to those claims on his Instagram account.
"It wasn't a kiss, neither a celebration," he wrote accompanied by a video of the incident.
"I apologise for putting my hands on @grujicmarko face. I was giving him instructions about a set-piece.
"We must definitely be careful now that we play under this situation. We have to adapt our way to play or celebrate."
It remains to be seen if Boyata will be reprimanded for his actions, while both he and Grujic avoided a second yellow card for the incident after already picking up bookings in the first-half.
German politician Markus Soder warned that failing to abide by the rules could be punished with a red card.
He said: "If health experts have made those suggestions, if the league with great expense and smart ideas has worked on concepts, you have to stick to those rules.
"And if you do not stick to those rules, you might get the red card. It's like that in football as well as in real life."
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