Borussia Dortmund's team bus hit with explosives before Champions League match, Marc Bartra injured
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Yesterday in Dortmund, Germany prior to the UEFA Champions League's quarter-final match against AS Monaco, explosives detonated near a bus carrying Borussia Dortmund (BVB)'s team, injuring defender Marc Bartra. The match was "postponed until Wednesday at 18:45 CET", read UEFA's official statement.
Image: AS Monaco.
Spanish centre back Marc Bartra broke his radial bone of his right hand, and underwent an operation later at night, BVB reported. Goalkeeper Roman Bürki, who was next to Bartra in the bus told Blick that Bartra "was hit by fragments of the broken rear window" ((de))German language: von Splittern der zerborstenen Rückscheibe getroffen wurde.
Dortmund's police chief Gregor Lange said the explosions were reported at 19:15 CET. He said, "At 19:15 CET, there were three explosions in the vicinity of the hotel in which the BVB team had been guests and were leaving to travel to the stadium." ((de))German language: Um 19.15 Uhr ist es zu drei Explosionen im Umfeld des Hotels gekommen, in dem die Mannschaft des BVB gastiert und von dort den Weg zum Stadion angetreten hat. He said it was a "targeted attack on the BVB Team Bus". Police checked for further explosives using sniffer dogs. Gregor Lange said they discovered another explosive which did not detonate. They also found a letter claiming the responsibility of the attack, but the officials did not reveal its details.
Benedikt Höwedes, captain of Schalke 04, Dortmund's local rivals, tweeted, "Separated by color, united against violence! Best regards @MarcBarta and the whole team of @BVB [Borussia Dortmund], I hope you are all well! #BVBASM" ((de))German language: Getrennt in den Farben, vereint gegen Gewalt! Alles Gute, @MarcBartra und dem gesamten Team des @BVB! Ich hoffe, es geht euch gut! #BVBASM. AS Monaco supporters in the stadium yesterday were heard chanting "Dortmund! Dortmund!" after the accident was announced.
Dortmund asked their supporters to help away fans by providing them accommodation for a day by using #bedsforawayfans (beds for away fans) hashtag via social media. Dortmund announced stadium tours for Wednesday were canceled, via their official website. Increasing the security after the attack, Dortmund announced storage facilities at Signal Iduna Park would be closed and no backpacks bigger than A4 size would be permitted in the stadium.
This story has updates
See 28-year-old suspect charged for attacking Borussia Dortmund's team bus, April 22, 2017
Sources
- "UEFA statement on Dortmund incident" — UEFA, April 11, 2017
- "Explosions by BVB bus: quarter-final against Monaco postponed" — Deutscher Fußball-Bund, April 11, 2017
- "Stadium tours cancelled this Wednesday" — Borussia Dortmund, April 11, 2017
- ""Targeted attack on the BVB Team Bus"" — Borussia Dortmund, April 11, 2017
- Benedikt Höwedes. "Benedikt Höwedes on Twitter" — Twitter, April 11, 2017
- Borussia Dortmund. "Borussia Dortmund on Twitter" — Twitter, April 11, 2017
- "Club Statement" — AS Monaco, April 11, 2017
- "More stringent checks, backpacks not allowed" — Borussia Dortmund, April 12, 2017
- "Marc Bartra undergoes operation on arm and hand" — Borussia Dortmund, April 12, 2017
- Andreas Böni. "Jetzt spricht BVB-Bürki nach dem Car-Anschlag" — Blick, April 11, 2017 (German)
- Alison Smale. "Explosions Hit Borussia Dortmund’s Bus in Germany, Wounding a Player" — The New York Times, April 11, 2017
- Philip Oltermann. "Borussia Dortmund v Monaco Champions League fixture postponed after explosions" — The Guardian, April 11, 2017
- Borussia Dortmund. "Borussia Dortmund on Twitter" — Twitter, April 11, 2017
- AS Monaco. "AS Monaco Champions on Twitter" — Twitter, April 11, 2017
