Before the cup game between Lokomotiv Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt, two fans of the guests were seriously injured on Sunday. The 24 and 25-year-old men were attacked by two unknown suspected locomotive fans, the police said in the evening. The 25-year-old had to be treated as an inpatient in a hospital. The criminal police are investigating because of dangerous bodily harm. Bundesliga club Frankfurt had prevailed 7-0 in the first round encounter at the regional league club.
There are further police investigations into incidents during the game and on departure. After pyrotechnics were thrown from a home block in the direction of the wheelchair users sitting in front of them, an investigation was carried out into causing an explosive explosion, the statement said. In addition, as part of the departure, a fan is said to have thrown a bottle in the direction of a journalist. A 31-year-old is under investigation after an attack on two police officers.
After the cup game, locomotive supporters got into arguments with the police. The police said there had been attempts to break through police barriers and get to the departing guest fans. There were also delays on departure because the emergency brake was probably pulled on a tram. In addition, locomotive fans threw garbage cans on a street not far from the stadium. According to the first findings, there were no injured police officers.
“It’s haunted me my whole life”
The police were in action on Sunday with a large contingent to separate the two fan camps. The game was classified as a high-risk game. The game had to be interrupted at times for around ten minutes. According to TV images, pyrotechnics flew from the home area towards the field and landed near fans in wheelchairs in front of the block. A large police presence gathered during the break in the second half.
Coach Almedin Civa from Lok Leipzig demands severe penalties against pyro throwers after the riots. “I hope there will come a time, like in England, that they will never come back to the stadium, but that doesn’t happen in our society. I was just very emotional about that. It’s haunted me my whole life, I wanted to stop playing football because of that shit,” said the coach of the fourth division club.
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“The referee did everything right. The people who contributed to the situation should consider whether they are doing everything right in life. In plain English, I’m probably the ass who addresses this, just sad, cheeky,” said Civa at the press conference. At the same time, the former second division player campaigned for peaceful locomotive fans. “The people around, that’s 99 percent, I love them. They do everything for the club. I’m so sorry for the people who made this happen.”
Eintracht coach Dino Toppmöller also condemned the incident. “No one needs that,” he said, praising the referee: “The referee came straight to us and said that he wanted to get the boys together on the pitch first because he wanted to de-escalate the situation. Then he said: ‘Now let’s go to the dressing room.’” Despite the long interruption, according to the referee, the game was not about to be called off, reported Toppmöller.
