AROUND 200 PEOPLE were arrested and eight police officers injured as fans of bitter German rivals Borussia Dortmund and Schalke rampaged on Saturday, destroying a restaurant and using paving stones as weapons.
Schalke won the 141st Ruhr derby 2-1 to stay third in the table, with champions Dortmund fourth, but the violence outside the Signal Iduna Park stadium, which was an 80,000-sell-out, over-shadowed the Royal Blues’ victory.
Dortmund fans demolished a restaurant near the ground, using the furniture as weapons against police and Schalke fans.
A police vehicle was damaged as Dortmund fans pelted officers with paving stones.
A group of 600 Schalke fans were attacked by masked Dortmund supporters armed with bottles and paint bombs when they arrived at the stadium leaving police to resort to pepper spray to prevent further trouble.Around 200 fans from both clubs were arrested over the course of the day and eight police officers were injured, the city’s police department confirmed.
A strong police presence marched Schalke fans out of Dortmund’s stadium en masse after the final whistle.
Schalke 04 team manager Horst Heldt admitted the rioting had left him stunned.
“That’s not what we imagined happening here,” said Heldt. “Before the game, both clubs had made a statement that we hope the rivalry would be contained to the pitch. This is not nice and can’t be accepted.“Maybe at some point, we can express emotions through chanting and cheering.”
Tensions escalated in Dortmund around noon on Saturday and there were clashes between police and supporters from both teams shortly before kick-off outside the stadium.
A water cannon was used by police to stop Schalke fans pulling a fence down.
In a separate incident, a group of around 100 Schalke fans were involved in brawls in the morning on the way to the stadium, firing flares.
More than 1,000 police officers were deployed for the game, twice as many as are on duty for a normal Bundesliga game.
“Perpetrators from Dortmund and Schalke have purposely undermined our security plans with their only goal being violent clashes with bystanders and rival fans,” said Dortmund’s police chief Dieter Keil.
“This has nothing to do with the enthusiasm for football and has nothing to do with what we want to see in Dortmund.”
