155 police officers were injured in clashes with fans at a German soccer match, most from the use of tear gas

BERLIN – Around 155 police officers were injured in clashes with fans of Dynamo Berlin and Energie Cottbus over the weekend – most of them from the use of their own tear gas.

According to the Berlin police, 116 officers suffered injuries from the use of tear gas, 28 from assault and 11 from hits from pyrotechnics fired by fans at the Dynamo stadium after the fourth division game.

“I condemn it in the strongest terms,” said Berlin’s sports senator Iris Spranger on Monday. “The club now has to tell us what it wants to do with its fan base. That’s tax money we had to spend with 1,000 police officers for security.”

Security at football matches is a top priority for police as Germany hosts the European Championships for 24 national teams this summer. The police have prepared for possible problems at games.

“Such violence destroys sport,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on X, formerly Twitter.

It broke out on Saturday when the rivals met at the Dynamo grounds in east Berlin for a game in which promotion was at stake for both.

The two clubs are past their prime – Cottbus played in the Bundesliga from 2000-03 and 2006-09.

Dynamo won the East German championship ten times in a row from 1979 to 1988 after being accused of match-fixing because Stasi boss Erich Mielke said the club was his favorite. At that time, Cottbus was forced to hand over its best players to the Berlin team.

Both clubs are known for having right-wing extremist elements among their fans.

According to police, riots broke out when Dynamo supporters fired pyrotechnics at away fans and burned Cottbus scarves, forcing the game to be stopped for about 15 minutes.

Police said they prevented the situation from escalating when play resumed, but the rival groups covered their faces and fired pyrotechnics at each other after the game, while Cottbus fans burned Dynamo paraphernalia in return.

The rival groups made several attempts to break through police lines and clash, forcing police to use tear gas.

“Police dogs were also on duty and two home fans were bitten and injured,” the police said in a statement.

The unrest continued away from the ground, where some fans threw bottles at police and tried to loosen small paving stones to throw them. Officers responded with tear gas and water cannons.

The police filed a total of 62 criminal complaints, including for breach of the peace, attacks on law enforcement officers, resistance, physical attacks, prisoner release and insults. About 74 people were arrested and later released.

Cottbus won the game 2-0, dashing Dynamo’s hopes of promotion and boosting their own hopes. Cottbus remains first in the Northeast Regional League.

Cottbus coach Claus-Dieter Wollitz complained that the game lacked safety despite the potential for violence.

“I’m used to being insulted, especially here. But having to be afraid of having stones thrown at me during the game and being threatened is unimaginable for me in 2024. This is no longer aggression, it goes far beyond that,” Wollitz told MDR. “When you’re threatened like that, you don’t know how far these people will go.”

Dynamo rejected the Cottbus coach’s claims in a statement.

“Mr. Wollitz is known for his sometimes over-emotional and provocative behavior on the sidelines towards referees and representatives of other clubs,” said Dynamo, adding that they were “very irritated” about the coach’s past and the regular criticism of the club.

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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer