Firecrackers at Union game: Fischer also flinches
According to 1. FC Union Berlin, no fans were injured when fireworks were thrown by SSC supporters into the visitors' block at the Champions League match in Naples. According to communications director Christian Arbeit, a total of nine firecrackers and a flare landed in the area of the 2,500 supporters from Berlin on Wednesday evening. According to him, one perpetrator was identified and arrested during the match.
There were repeated loud bangs in the early stages of the game, which ended 1-1. "Of course I heard it. You really couldn't overhear how loud those firecrackers were," said Union coach Urs Fischer: "I flinched at one or two of them because you're not prepared for that kind of situation." It is simply incredibly dangerous to set off such things in a full stadium.
There were just under 50,000 spectators at the match in the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The evening before, there had been rioting in Naples by Union supporters. However, Borussia Mönchengladbach fans who were friends with the Berliners are also said to have been involved. According to the authorities, a total of eleven Germans were arrested.
In the midst of the Champions League match between 1st FC Union Berlin and SSC Naples, Urs Fischer, the Union coach, recounted his reaction to the errant fireworks thrown by Naples' fans, stating, "I flinched at one or two of them because you're not prepared for that kind of situation." Despite the danger posed by such actions, the 1st FC Union Berlin managed to secure a draw against SSC Naples in front of a crowd of nearly 50,000 spectators.
Source: www.dpa.com
