By Andrew Warshaw
April 12 – The football world has reacted with shock and dismay after Tuesday’s Champions League tie between Borussia Dortmund and Monaco had to be postponed because of three explosions close to the Dortmund team bus.
One player, defender Marc Bartra, was taken to hospital with arm and wrist injuries after being hit by the blasts which occurred near the team hotel 90 minutes before kickoff around six miles (10km) from the club’s stadium, where they were due to play their quarter-final first leg.
Police are still investigating who was behind the incident which shattered windows of the bus and is being treated as “targeted attack on Borussia Dortmund’s team”. A letter near the scene of the crime reportedly contained a claim of responsibility.
“At this time, it is still not clear what the real background to this act is,” Dortmund police chief Gregor Lange told a late night news conference.
With a crammed international calendar, the game was rescheduled for today – kicking off two hours earlier than usual – amid what is certain to be watertight security.
The explosive devices were reported to have been hidden behind a hedge and Borussia Dortmund’s managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke said: “The whole team is in a state of shock. Our task is to process this experience, because the match is taking place in less than 24 hours. That’s our job.”
Bartra, 26, joined Dortmund for €8 million last year from Barcelona, after coming through the Catalan club’s youth system. He has made 12 appearances for the Spanish national team.
The Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Bürki told Swiss newspaper Blick: “I was sat in the back row next to Marc Bartra, who was hit by the shards of the burst back window. After the bang everyone in the bus got their heads down. We didn’t know whether there would be more. The police arrived quickly, sealed everything off. We are all in shock.”
As the local authorities paid tribute to the orderly way fans left the Signal Iduna Park stadium, the largest in Germany holding more than 80,000 fans, when the match was called off 15 minutes before kickoff, the incident revived memories of the November 2015 attacks in Paris, one of which targeted Stade de France where France were playing Germany in a friendly.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin was quick to react.
“I was deeply disturbed by the explosions which occurred tonight in Dortmund,” said Ceferin.
“The decision taken to postpone the UEFA Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco was the correct one since we must always prioritise the safety and security of all fans, team officials and players. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the representatives of the two clubs, the local authorities, and the supporters for their cooperation on the ground.”
Watze said the Borussia players would “pull together” though whether both sets of players can recover in such a short space of time must be questionable.
“In extreme situations, all Borussia fans move even closer together and I’m sure the team will feel that tomorrow. Technically, it’s possible to play. If the players are able to shake this off is an entirely different matter,” he said.
Meanwhile fans of both teams gained widespread respect and praise for the way they reacted to the incident. While Dortmund fans showed their class by offering accommodation for the night for travelling Monaco supporters left stranded in the city, as news of the incident filtered through the stadium, the pocket of Monaco supporters demonstrated their solidarity by standing, clapping and chanting ‘Dortmund, Dortmund’.
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