VfL Bochum will host Borussia Dortmund at the end of April. Despite the incidents at the game against Schalke, the club is sticking to the previous ticket pre-sale model.

After the home match against FC Schalke 04 in early March (0:2), VfL Bochum had been annoyed by too many visiting fans in the home area and provocations by them. At that time, the club announced in a statement that it would review and probably change the modalities of advance ticket sales in order to avoid such incidents in future derbies.

But with an eye on the neighboring duel with Borussia Dortmund at the end of the month (Friday, April 28), the Bochum club now said it would stick to its previous procedures. “A thorough analysis, including consultation and intensive consultation with the fan-relevant departments and committees, now leads to the conclusion that the previous sales strategy was purposeful and significantly fewer guest fans are present in the home areas than in previous Bundesliga years,” VfL announced on Saturday.

A complete prevention of guest fans in the home areas is “almost impossible, even through elaborate measures such as people controls,” it continues. This is the result of experience from other locations in North Rhine-Westphalia.

For the floodlit duel with BVB, this means that once again there will be no free sales; only club members will be able to purchase tickets – a maximum of two tickets per person. Advance sales will start on Tuesday, April 18, at 10 a.m. in the club’s online ticket store.

Furthermore, the Bochum club appeals to members, season ticket holders and partners to pass on purchased tickets only to supporters of VfL and “not to support the unauthorized resale and black market trade of tickets”.

The club had already taken a clear stance against illegal ticket trading in the past. The Bochum club takes rigorous action against black marketeers, punishing violations with a stadium ban, revocation of the season ticket, and even termination of membership.