³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

An award-winning German ballet director has been suspended after smearing dog faeces on a critic's face. Marco Goecke was apparently furious about a review of one of his shows by journalist Wiebke Hüster. He allegedly confronted Ms Hüster during the half-time break of another show and smeared a paper bag filled with dog excrement on her face. Ms Hüster's employer, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), said police were investigating.

Ms Hüster's initial review of Mr Goecke's show, In The Dutch Mountains, described the production as like being "alternately driven mad and killed by boredom".

Ms Hüster described what happened when Mr Goecke confronted her to Newshour:

"I said, 'no, [the review] was not personal, it was just discussing your piece.' And then all of a sudden he took out this doggy poop bag and smashed it brutally into my face."

(Picture: Archive image of choreographer Marco Goecke receiving an award in Monaco in 2006. Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)