The German FA (DFB) said Sunday they are investigating Werder Bremen defender Papy Djilobodji, on loan from Chelsea, for making a throat-cutting gesture at an opponent during a Bundesliga match.

Referee Manuel Graefe missed the incident, but the German FA are looking into the matter after Djilobodji pulled his index finger across his throat in the direction of Mainz winger Pablo de Balsis during the 1-1 draw in Bremen on Saturday.

In January, the Senegal international signed on loan from Chelsea until the end of the season.

He could now be banned for their next league game at Borussia Dortmund on April 2 with Bremen battling to avoid relegation.

In November 2009, St Pauli forward Deniz Naki made a similar gesture to Hansa Rostock fans during a German league match and received a three-match ban by the DFB.

Werder coach Viktor Skripnik says Djilobodji has "a temper" and expects there to be consequences for his gesture, adding: "I'll accept whatever comes".

Bremen's director of sport Thomas Eichin says he will speak to the player.

"I'll have a serious talk to him about it and he won't do it again in the future," Eichin told Sky.

In the same match, Werder's veteran striker Claudio Pizarro, 37, equalled the club's goal-scoring record after netting for the 101st time in the Bremen shirt, converting a penalty after Julian Baumgartlinger had given Mainz a first-half lead.

Pizarro's contract expires at the end of the season, but the Peru hot-shot is set to be offered a contract extension by the man whose record he equalled.

"He's also an important person to have in the dressing room and I would be happy if he'd play another year with us, I think the prospects are good," said Werder's chairman Marcus Bode, who had set the record of 101 Werder Bremen goals.