Police operation at Bundesliga match in Bochum
At the Bundesliga match between VfL Bochum and 1. FC Köln, there was an incident between fans of the visitors and the police. According to the police, the officers had to support the stewards at the entrance to the stadium because supporters of Cologne's "problem fan scene" had exerted a lot of pressure. Pepper spray was also used "briefly". Cologne fan support wrote on X, formerly Twitter, of an "excessive police operation".
Admission to the Ruhrstadion was delayed enormously, the fan representatives reported. Later on, some Cologne fans left the guest block again. The police announced that there had been delays at the exit due to coordination with the club. According to Fanhilfe, pepper spray was used again: "Several people were injured as a result of this action." The police confirmed to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that several people had to be treated.
In the second division, there was an uproar on Friday about a police operation at FC St. Pauli's match against Hannover 96. Here, too, fan representatives had criticized the police officers' actions. The officers justified the operation in the fan block with the necessary protection of a Hannover supporter.
In the Bundesliga, the tensions between the police and 1. FC Köln's "problem fan scene" continued at VfL Bochum's home game, leading to a brief use of pepper spray. Following the incident, fan representatives reported significant delays in gaining access to the Ruhrstadion.
Despite earlier criticism from fan representatives, further use of pepper spray during the game resulted in several injuries among Cologne supporters, as reported by Fanhilfe.
Source: www.dpa.com
