Schalke are considering taking disciplinary action against defender Rafinha after he skipped training camp on Monday to join up with his Brazil team-mates ahead of the Olympics.
Rafinha, 22, is accepting a call-up to the Olympic squad against the wishes of his club, who do not believe they need to release the player as the tournament does not appear on FIFA's international schedule.
FIFA have said the release of players 23 and under selected for the tournament is 'mandatory', but earlier on Monday the general secretary of the German Football Association, Wolfgang Niersbach, claimed FIFA had assured him Bundesliga clubs do not have to release their players.
Rafinha has now taken the matter into his own hands by failing to arrive for camp in Austria and instead flying to Paris to meet his international team-mates.
'Rafinha is not here, but what should I do? I cannot lead him around in handcuffs,' general manager Andreas Muller told the Bild newspaper as the Royal Blues flew out from Munster/Osnabruck airport on Monday morning.
In a statement that appeared later on the Schalke website, Muller said he 'will study what options are open to us with the DFL (German Football League).'
The DFL on Sunday claimed they would try and suspend any player who defiantly left his club to appear in Beijing, insisting there is 'no requirement to release players' for the Olympics.
Rafinha said he expects Werder Bremen's Diego, the 23-year-old playmaker caught in a similar club-versus-country row, to also skip training camp and join the Olympic squad.
'Diego will be in Paris,' said Rafinha, who claimed to have spoken with his compatriot on Sunday.
Both players could then be the subject of an attempt by the DFL to impose disciplinary action.
Niersbach claimed he had spoken to FIFA officials and been told clubs could not be forced to release players.
'There is no obligation to release players, whether they are under or over the age of 23,' Niersbach told Sport Bild magazine after a telephone call with FIFA officials.
'This confirms our position and we will be informing the clubs of this.'
FIFA had earlier released a statement confirming it was 'mandatory' for clubs to release players aged 23 and under for Olympic duty.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge, meanwhile, has demanded clubs release those players who want to travel, claiming players will be suspended from club competition for the duration of the Games if they are not released.
But the German FA (DFB) have adopted the same stance as the German Football League (DFL), who confirmed on Sunday it was backing the clubs' bids to keep hold of their players.
Bundesliga newcomers Hoffenheim have already reluctantly agreed to let striker Chinedu Obasi join up with the Nigeria squad.
But coach Ralf Rangnick has reacted angrily to Rogge's comments, saying: 'I did not even know he had a role with FIFA. You have always got to expect surprises from FIFA, but up to now they have always stuck to their rules.'
FIFA have so far not responded to messages left by PA Sport.
