Clashes between fans led to troubling scenes after Carl Zeiss Jena’s 5-0 win over visiting Chemie Leipzig on Saturday.
Local police said 79 people were injured in the skirmishes, including 10 officers, five stewards and 64 fans from both camps. Police added that 40 criminal and misdemeanor charges were filed.
Jena is in the eastern German state of Thuringia, about 100 kilometers from Leipzig. Despite both sets of ultras [hardcore fans] generally holding left-wing political views, some trouble was expected, with the match designated high risk because of the antipathy between fan groups.
Pyrotechnics pose threat
A large crowd of 7,224 spectators, including 1,084 Chemie supporters, attended the match despite the game being played in the regional northeastern league.
Around 350 home fans had earlier marched through the city unannounced before the game, according to police. Pyrotechnics were set off during the march, and police said they had to intervene “with the use of physical force and of physical violence as well as the baton and tear gas.”
Germany has had some trouble with extremist hooligan groups in recent years but generally has a well-organized and vibrant fan scene. Euro 2024, hosted in the country earlier this year, went off without minimal fan trouble.
Clubs condemn violence
Carl Zeiss Jena released a statement on Sunday suggesting much of the blame lay with visiting fans. “A large group of the approximately 1,200 visiting fans from Leipzig violently broke through the buffer between the visiting block and Block N and gained access to the home area of the active Jena fan scene,” it read.
“Above all, FC Carl Zeiss Jena wishes those affected a speedy recovery. The club will get a comprehensive picture of what happened in the next few days.”
Chemie Leipzig took a similar tack, criticizing “the misconduct of a minority” of their fans.
“As a club, we suffered great damage yesterday. According to our current findings, fireworks have repeatedly been thrown from the away section towards the opposing home fan section,” a statement on the club website read. “We condemn violence in the form of physical confrontations, especially the use of pyrotechnics against people. This has no place at our football matches and will not be tolerated by us.”
Both clubs said they will investigate the incidents further.
Material from the DPA news agency was used in their report.
