Today the district derby between S04 and BVB takes place. There are extensive security measures. This also affects a popular meeting place for Schake fans.

After VfL Bochum’s unexpected 2:0 win at 1. FC Köln on Friday evening, it is clear: FC Schalke 04 will again go into the derby against Borussia Dortmund as bottom of the table. This should further increase the pressure on the Königsblauen to take something countable against BVB after two wins in a row and six unbeaten games in a row recently.

Meanwhile, the Gelsenkirchen police and the Dortmund police have set out the rules of the game for the derby in a joint fan letter following the raids carried out this week.

And this does not only result in a ban on alcohol in the Schalker Arena and in the area surrounding the stadium. The clubhouse of the Schalke fan club association at P7 is also affected. It has to remain completely closed on today’s match day. This is another restriction that the fans of the Königsblauen will have to live with. The P7 car park in the immediate vicinity will be reserved exclusively for Borussia Dortmund’s 7,000 fans.

“For private vehicles of the visiting fans, parking is available in car parks P7, E1 and E2 directly adjacent to the VELTINS-Arena. Coaches please use the “Gelsenwasser” car park (access from Willy-Brandt-Allee),” writes the police.

4,000 supporters of the Black and Yellows are expected to arrive by car or bus, 3,000 by public transport. Special measures are also planned for them: “Please note our instructions for arrival and departure on match day. Guest fans arriving by train will be taken to the stadium by convoy buses from Gelsenkirchen main station. Please use these. These buses will also take you back to the station at the end of the match,” explained the police. On this way, the fan groups should be separated from each other as much as possible. At the stadium itself, Entrance South and Entrance East 2 will be reserved for BVB fans.

For the Schalke fans, this also means that they will have to find a way to pass the time before the game. This is because the SFCV clubhouse in particular is normally a popular meeting place before kick-off for Schalke fans and fan clubs arriving by car or bus.

And the Schalke Fan Club Association will lose not inconsiderable revenue. “Sure, not opening the clubhouse before a 6.30pm game and sunny weather, that hurts,” says SFCV chairwoman Melanie Illburger. Considerable income is also lost, but that is part of the security concept, is not new and has been the case for several years. Illburger shows understanding for the measure: “After all, the BVB fans pass right by us on their way to the stadium.”

Normally, the clubhouse opens two hours before the game and is well-filled, especially at late kick-off times. Illburger naturally wishes for a Schalke victory and hopes that the measures from the security concept will pay off. “It would be good for all of us that everything stays peaceful. “