Stand: 09.05.2022
Emotional images remain from the last Bundesliga matchday. Especially in Cologne and Gelsenkirchen, the fans celebrate uncontrollably – and storm the square. But the celebration also has a downside. The DFB determined.
Dhe joy knew no bounds in some stadiums during the past Bundesliga weekend. After the final whistle, thousands of fans were no longer on their seats and stormed onto the pitch.
But the rushing of football fans after the games of 1. FC Köln and Schalke 04 could have had dramatic consequences, according to the security authorities. Above all, the boundless cheers in the arena in Gelsenkirchen presented the police with a major challenge.
“This space storm could have ended in a catastrophe,” said Peter Both, the senior police director. Both clubs are now facing consequences. The control committee of the German Football Association (DFB) has started investigations after the incidents on Saturday, as a DFB spokesman confirmed on Monday. The clubs were asked to comment.
The police tried to keep the situation under control
Source: dpa/David Indian song
According to previous knowledge, 18 people were injured in the space storm in Gelsenkirchen, nine of them seriously. Nobody is in mortal danger. “The immediate and quick intervention of numerous police officers prevented worse things from happening here,” said Both.
More than 2,000 fans crowded onto the field, and there were falls and injuries in the stands. Some victims were taken to the hospital.
Folders brace themselves against an advertising board in the Gelsenkirchen Arena to prevent worse things from happening
Source: dpa/David Indian song
“We hope that people will recover quickly and wish the injured a speedy recovery,” said a spokesman for FC Schalke. The crowds on the field have left their mark. The club said the lawn was over and no longer playable.
Square storm also in Cologne
In Cologne, too, numerous spectators ran onto the grass after the final whistle to celebrate their team’s entry into international business and to secure souvenirs, for example in the form of pieces of grass.
FC confirmed that many safety precautions had been taken and that fans had also been appealed not to storm the interior. Additional fences had been put up and the visitors were to be kept away from it with announcements. At least there were no injuries in the stadium.
In Cologne, the security forces set up a barrier in front of the players’ tunnel
Source: dpa/Rolf Vennenbernd
