Hansa Rostock’s match against FC Schalke 04 was interrupted for half an hour following fan rioting. Now the Rostock police have summed up their operation.

With the 2:0 (0:0) at Hansa Rostock, FC Schalke 04 has gained some breathing space in the 2nd Bundesliga.

But even more than the eminently important victory, there was talk afterwards about the side effects of the game.

In the meantime, the Rostock police have also made an initial assessment. “The last home game before the winter break was marked by two interruptions. Shortly after kick-off, the match had to be briefly interrupted due to pyrotechnics being set off in the visitors’ block,” the police wrote in a press release. “Before the end of the first half, FC Schalke 04 supporters succeeded in destroying a glass partition in the visitors’ block by using massive and prolonged violence with striking tools. The destroyed pane was subsequently removed from its mount by the disruptive supporters. This allowed some of the Schalke fans to get into a cordoned-off block area in the direction of the south stand and there was a mutual burning of pyrotechnics between the supporters of both camps.”

The police continued: “Some of the F.C. Hansa Rostock fans subsequently also attempted to enter an adjacent closed-off block area. The match was interrupted for safety reasons. In consultation with F.C. Hansa Rostock officials, police forces were deployed between the home and visiting fan blocks. A clash between the two fan camps was prevented by the decisive action of the police officers and stewards.”

After intensive discussions between the police, the event management, the fan representatives of both clubs and the referee, it was possible to return the fans to their assigned areas. The match was then able to be restarted after an interruption of around 30 minutes.

It is clear that there will be repercussions: “The incident was recorded on video by the police officers deployed and is currently being analyzed. Charges have been filed on suspicion of aggravated breach of the peace. One police officer and two members of the security service were slightly injured. In addition, a paramedic was physically assaulted in the visiting fan block,” said the police.

Before the match, however, things had remained calm. “The arrival of around 2,200 visiting fans and the shuttle service set up for the guests went off without any significant incidents,” wrote the police.

A total of 800 police officers were deployed around the match.