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Police operation at the guest performance of the Berliners in Rotterdam
Photo: ROBIN UTRECHT / dpa
Bundesliga club Union Berlin lost for the second time at Feyenoord Rotterdam in the third game in the Europa Conference League.
But chaotic scenes around the stadium made the defeat a minor matter.
After the 1: 3 (1: 2) on Thursday, the deployment of the Dutch police and the behavior of the supporters who had traveled with them came into focus.
“There are pictures of numerous injured people from what was obviously a very tough police operation.
All in all, that is simply unacceptable, ”said Union communications chief Christian Arbeit.
There were also long waiting times before entering the guest block.
According to the club, some of the 2400 Berliners were not in their seats in the arena long after the game had started.
“From our point of view, it is a catastrophic situation when several hundred people with tickets are not in the stadium by half-time.
Then something can be wrong, "said Arbeit.
Representations diverge
A total of 75 people were arrested around the match at De Kuip Stadium. The representations of what exactly happened differ widely. While Union fans reported targeted attacks and arbitrary arrests on social media, the police presented the incidents differently. According to this, a group of 59 Union supporters first tried to confront fans of Feyenoord before kick-off. According to the police, they were suspected of "preparing for outright violence". Another 16 people are suspected of vandalism and possession of fireworks, among other things.
From the police's point of view, the clashes came about "because a group of Union Berlin fans made a spontaneous march from the old port to the De Kuip stadium."
The police also reported an attack by a "small group of German hooligans" on the officers.
As a result of the attack, a police dog was used, which bit three Union fans as well as a police officer.
Those affected had to receive medical care.
Targeted attacks
The “Iron Aid” fan community called on those affected to draw up memory logs in order to clear up the incidents.
Photos of the injured were also shown on the solidarity community's Twitter account.
You could see the consequences of a dog bite and a football fan with a bleeding head wound.
The police were accused of targeting the heads.
As a result of the incidents, Union announced talks with Feyenoord and the European Football Union.
“We'll have to talk about how something like this can happen on a European level.
It's unacceptable like that, ”Arbeit said.
Uefa did not comment on the events on Friday.
The official reports are still expected at first, according to the dpa news agency.
sak / dpa
