Football hooligans burn rival’s flag and conflict with ‘pepper spray wielding’ police
Football hooligans clashed during a lower league clash in Germany after one set of supporters stole their rival’s flag and burnt it – causing police to intervene
There were unsavory scenes over the weekend as football hooligans and police clashed.
All eyes were on the international break, but football lower in the pyramid continued – and fans flocked to lower league games to get their weekly fix of football.
However, it led to unsavoury scenes during FC Homburg and SV Sandhausen’s clash on Saturday afternoon. “Officers familiar with the scene were already aware beforehand that rival fan groups would be arriving due to the international break,” a spokesperson said ahead of the clash.
Hoffenheim, who maintain a fan friendship with the Saarland club, took the journey to the match and clashed with Sandhausen’s fans with chants and burning an apparently stolen flag.
However, tensions reached their peak at half-time when Sandhausen stormed the pitch and charged at the Hoffenheim contingent.
Police were forced to use pepper spray to push the hooligans back. According to local reports, even before kickoff, there had been “repeated mutual provocations” that were “quickly and decisively stopped by the police.”
And after the match “further hostility occurred,” according to a statement. “Home fans repeatedly sought opportunities for direct confrontation, but were consistently pushed back by police.”
The statement added that “several follow-up measures, including issuing dispersal orders, identity checks, and taking people into custody.”
Sandhausen won the clash 1-0, with manager Olaf Janssen adding: “We are, of course, overjoyed, especially considering our squad depth.
“For the past few weeks, we’ve been playing incredibly hard because we haven’t just made it our mission to defend, but to love defending. And that’s precisely why we’ve managed four clean sheets and secured the victories.
“I’m incredibly proud of the team because we played an outstanding first half – both in terms of our overall approach, the way we played football, and the way we pushed our back line as high as possible.
“Of course, there were some tricky situations down the line, but the lads defended them brilliantly. I don’t usually single out any player, but what Kwabe Schulz covered today, the challenges he chose, and how he defended them in the most critical situations – that was exceptional.”
