The relegation of Schalke 04 to the 2.Bundesliga on Tuesday evening caused unprecedented chaos at the Veltins-Arena. Immediately afterwards it became clear that there had been a ‘violent attack’ on the players, but slowly but surely more and more shocking details are becoming clear in the German media. Supporters allegedly destroyed Mark Uth’s car and several players, including Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, were physically attacked.
Schalke lost 1-0 to Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday-evening, which officially marks the relegation to the 2.Bundesliga. The players’ bus was then met in Gelsenkirchen by five to six hundred furious supporters, who threw eggs and set off fireworks. Schalke spoke in a statement through the official channels of a ‘short-lived confrontation between the player group and supporter groups at the Veltins-Arena’.
shocking scenes reach us from gelsenkirchen after the relegation of fc schalke 04 # DSCS04 pic.twitter.com/NxkGqqRoNA
– Full (@ MegaStoned1948) April 21, 2021
Despite all the understandable frustration and anger at the relegation to the 2. Bundesliga, the club will never accept that the physical integrity of its players and employees is compromised. This has happened. The club strongly condemns this behavior and feels is of course responsible for the safety of his people, “Schalke wrote. Now through German media, details slowly but surely trickle out of what happened during that particular night in Gelsenkirchen.
Express writes that once at the stadium, the players fled from the angry crowd. Goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann, Amine Harit and trainer Dimitrios Grammozis would have been beaten, while Huntelaar and assistant coach and club icon Mike Büskens would have been ‘physically attacked’. “I will face fear Buyo (Büskens, ed.) Never forget ”, says team manager Gerald Asamoah WAZ. The former striker of Schalke, who was already in tears in front of the camera immediately after the duel with Arminia Bielefeld, also says that an unnamed employee of Schalke was lying on the ground and was kicked.
?? Gerald Asamoah, team manager and former player of Schalke 04, speaks to the press with tears in his eyes after his club’s relegation. pic.twitter.com/YBGsnMDG4H
– ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) April 21, 2021
“I’m still not doing well, it was a difficult situation. I don’t know Schalke like that at all. The fact that the fans are so close has always been part of Schalke ”, says Asamoah. Initially, the presence of the police would have given Schalke’s staff and selection another sense of security. “The first five minutes after we left the players’ bus, I wasn’t scared yet. We knew we had to shut up and listen. Then all of a sudden all kinds of other things happened. ”
It is not immediately clear why the flame hit the pan. One player previously stated anonymously in conversation with Sports 1 that they ran when the supporters attacked them. “Some of us got kicked. I am shocked and I do not know how we can play in the coming games. I also don’t understand why we were handed over to the fans. The police were just waiting downstairs. ” The fans not only targeted the players, but also molested the cars of Omar Mascarell and Uth. The former attacker of Heracles Almelo and sc Heerenveen stayed with teammate Goncalo Paciencia as a precaution. Suat Serdar dared to drive home and was followed until there by ten furious supporters.
“Uth, you son of a bitch!” Schalke players were confronted and chased by some of their Ultras last night when they arrived back in Gelsenkirchen. Came after their first relegation since 1988 was confirmed last night. This video has been doing the rounds on What’s App. pic.twitter.com/1CiFFWFfCF
– Archie Rhind-Tutt (@ archiert1) April 21, 2021
“The question why the situation escalated so worries me,” said Peter Knäbel, sports director of Schalke, in a video message to fans. Initially, the club itself would have held back the police, because they were convinced that a dialogue was possible. When the flame hit, the police had to intervene and further escalation was prevented. “We have to clarify things before we can come up with an explanation. What the staff and players had to go through has nothing to do with Schalke. ”
“It’s all about how the players and staff are, guys like Buyo Büskens and Asamoah. Some had to stay in a hotel, that’s an absolute no-go”, Says Knäbel. Apart from material damage, bruises and minor injuries, there are no ‘serious consequences’, according to Knäbel. “But the emotional damage is much greater.” Schalke does not have to take action next Saturday due to the corona outbreak at Hertha BSC. Fortunately, he concludes Express, because the selection would probably not have been able to do so.