Frankfurt’s fans show the Hitler salute, followed by an exchange of fire with flares
The fears for the duel between Olympique Marseille and Frankfurt were confirmed. Eintracht supporters gave the Hitler salute. Both camps then fired flares at each other in the stadium. A fan was seriously injured. The Hessians are now threatened with a ghost game.
KAlmost two hours before the start of the Champions League game between Olympique Marseille and Eintracht Frankfurt, fans of the Bundesliga club caused shocking scenes.
As can be clearly seen in a video shared on social networks, fans of the Hessians gave the Hitler salute. In addition, a flare was fired from the Frankfurt block at a grandstand filled with Marseille supporters. As a result, flares were fired from both fan blocks and firecrackers were thrown.
A Hesse fan was seriously injured. “He’s in the hospital, but his life is out of danger,” said Frankfurt board member Philipp Reschke after the 1-0 win in France. As Reschke said, the trailer is said to have been injured by a flare.
The incidents could have drastic consequences for the Bundesliga club, since the SGE played in the semi-finals of the Europa League after the storm West Ham United had been sentenced by the European Football Union to a spectator exclusion in the next international game. The sentence had been suspended for two years, but could come into force after the incidents in Marseille.
Eintracht will play their next two Champions League games against Tottenham Hotspur. On October 4th, the SGE will first play at home, about a week later the game will take place in London.
This confirmed the assessments of the police, who had taken high security precautions before the game. The reason was riots at the Conference League game between OGC Nice and the 1. FC Cologne Last Thursday. A repetition of such incidents should be prevented with numerous bans for the German fans who traveled with them.
Police prevent clashes
The evening before, there had almost been clashes between the two camps in the southern French port city. The police arrested five people, as the responsible prefecture announced on Monday evening. According to her, law enforcement officers prevented clashes between fan groups in the center of Marseille.
There are just over 3,000 Eintracht fans in the stadium. They are banned from wearing fan paraphernalia such as t-shirts and scarves and from singing fan songs in four central Marseille districts. The usual fan march to the stadium was also banned. Arrival on Tuesday may only take place in buses that are organized and accompanied by the police. “The police have made it very clear that the bans will be consistently enforced. It is therefore strongly recommended to adhere to these guidelines, ”said Eintracht.
The history of duels between the two clubs also plays a role in the measures. Even when the two teams met four years ago in the Europe League the authorities had tried to prevent a possible escalation with drastic measures. “To issue a complete ban on entering the city for our supporters represents a completely inappropriate and constitutionally highly questionable, if not inadmissible, encroachment on the rights of each individual,” Eintracht board spokesman Axel Hellmann criticized in September 2018.