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The kick-off was getting closer and the curve was emptying in the game between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart. Fans reacted to alleged police violence.
Update from November 25th, 10:38 p.m.: Philipp Reschke, Frankfurter Eintracht board member, confirmed “massive clashes” between SGE fans and police after the game. According to him, there were several injured people. Reschke neither wanted to confirm nor deny the police reports about the cause of the incidents. He heard “different information and different opinions”.
First report from November 25th, 7:29 p.m.: Frankfurt – The accusation of disproportionate police operations against fans has gained momentum again in recent weeks. The 12th matchday of the Bundesliga is now also overshadowed by this. This time the focus is on the events surrounding the game between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart. The organized SGE fans drew their conclusions by leaving the stands in droves before kick-off.
Even after returning to the stadium, the Eintracht fans did not resume their support. © IMAGO/Jan Huebner
Violent clash between fans and police
According to current information, there was a confrontation between fans of both teams and police forces before the game. The Frankfurt Police account initially shared on the platform X that supporters of both teams had attacked each other in front of the stadium grounds. After the police intervened, the groups began to “vehemently attack” the emergency services. In response, “additional emergency services including water cannons were sent to provide support.”
A little later the police added: “Guardians were harassed and attacked. This was followed by an emergency call to the police for assistance. The police were immediately attacked upon their arrival and, among other things, sat down. “We also used irritants to defend ourselves.” According to the report, this happened in the entrance area in front of Block 40.
The police reports cannot (yet) be understood exactly. There are some videos of the incident circulating, but these only show a short excerpt that does not allow a final assessment of the reasons for the escalation. In addition, neither club representatives nor representatives of the fan projects of both teams have yet commented on this.
Frankfurt fans leave the stadium and protest loudly
The fact that the incident – in the short videos you can see that objects were thrown at the police and they reacted with irritant gas – was also felt by bystanders could be observed in the stadium around kick-off. Almost the entire lower standing area was empty. Probably in protest and as a counter-reaction to the alleged police violence against their fellow activists. Around the 20th minute the curve had almost completely filled up again.
But the displeasure was not only visible visually, but also through clearly audible chants – despite the almost empty curve. With the kick-off, “We don’t want any bull pigs” echoed through the wide area, followed by the well-known in the stadiums of the Republic “We will never be what you want us to be”.
The teams wait for kick-off, the Eintracht fans leave the stadium. © IMAGO/Hansjürgen Britsch
Spiral of violence between fans and police?
This is by no means the first incident of this kind in recent weeks. On November 10th, Hannover 96’s visit to St. Pauli saw a much criticized deployment of security forces. Pictures of police forces randomly spraying irritant gas into the guest block made the rounds. Previously, Hanoverians who had traveled along had clashes with the police. A day later, there was a clash between supporters and state authorities over the game between VfL Bochum and 1. FC Köln.
The situation seems to be getting worse and worse. Dario Minden, fan representative of the “Our Curve” alliance, also sees a deadlock situation. Due to the events on November 10th and 11th, when asked by the dpa, he described the situation as “deadlocked”: “A solution in a kind of fan-police dialogue is unfortunately unrealistic.” (sch)
2023-11-26 03:51:00
#Accusation #police #violence #Eintracht #board #member #Reschke #comments
