Almost 200 injured in the stadium
Police and fans continue to argue after “excess violence”.
November 27, 2023, 12:11 p.m
The Bundesliga game between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart will be remembered for several things outside of the game. Referee Brych tears his cruciate ligament – and there are serious riots between the police and fans in the stands. Almost 200 injured and many accusations echo.
After the serious riots at the Bundesliga game between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart, a special commission began investigating. The SOKO 2511 is supposed to clarify the incidents on Saturday behind the northwest curve and is investigating, among other things, physical attacks on law enforcement officers, as the Frankfurt police announced.
According to police information, over 100 people were injured in the operation by the police and security services alone. “As of today’s investigation, 59 injured members of the security service and 57 injured police officers have been registered by the police. There is currently no confirmed information about injured attackers,” the statement said.
The Frankfurt fan aid organization “The 13th Man” reported in a statement that “at least 70 injured fans, seven of them seriously injured.” The exact number is “not yet foreseeable”. The representations from the police and from fan circles sometimes differ significantly.
According to police, the attack by Eintracht fans on a plain-clothed employee of the organizer was the trigger. He is said to have detained a person who, according to the police, had gained access to the block without a ticket. The police wrote that 300 to 400 people from the “Frankfurt risk fan scene” took part in the riots. Nine people were arrested for various offenses and released the same evening after the police operation was completed.
Fan Help speaks of “excess violence”
The police corrected their own post on social media on Saturday in the statement. “The indication initially published by the Frankfurt police via the short message service
According to Eintracht board member Philipp Reschke, there is “various information and different opinions” about the cause of the riots. According to the police, Frankfurt supporters attacked some stewards and rescue workers during an access control to the fan block three quarters of an hour before the game kicked off.
The police officers who were called to help by the security service were massively attacked by the Eintracht fans when they arrived on site. “Among other things, there were a number of targeted throwings of bottles, pyrotechnics and heavy iron bars,” the police report said.
The Frankfurt Fan Aid, on the other hand, accuses the police of escalating violence, saying they “probably wanted to set an example”. It is said that the operation around the northwest curve was the most massive police operation of all time in the Frankfurt stadium. The security forces acted “without any consideration for casualties among normal fans, women and children.” The police also used pepper spray and batons against bystanders. Some of the fans were unconscious and fell down the stairs.
Eintracht will also deal with the incident. “In the coming days, we will turn over every stone and put together every piece of the mosaic in order to have a precise picture of how these scenes came about,” announced Reschke. The “13th Man” meanwhile accuses the police of wanting to “flex their muscles before the 2024 European Championship” with the “excess of violence”.