DFB demands closure of Dortmund´s Yellow Wall and €100,000 fine

Borussia Dortmund have been ordered to close the Yellow Wall for one match and a €100,000 fine has been demanded by the German Football Association (DFB) following major crowd trouble against RB Leipzig.

Dortmund beat Leipzig – whose Bundesliga title bid is causing controversy in Germany due to their ownership structure – 1-0 in the Bundesliga last Saturday.

German police arrested 28 people relating to attacks on visiting fans.

According to local police, some RB Leipzig fans were pelted with various missiles including bottles and stones as they made their way to Signal Iduna Park, with children and families also caught up in the violence.

Arrests were made for assault, grievous bodily harm, breach of the peace and resisting arrest, with chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke vowing to punish those involved and stating Dortmund will do everything within their powers to prevent a repeat.

However, the ban only relates to matters within the stadium, with Dortmund punished because fans unveiled a string of “defamatory banners about Leipzig, threw filled beer mugs and targeted Leipzig players with a laser”.

Dortmund already had a suspended sentence in place and the DFB now plans to implement that punishment, as well as add new elements to ensure the whole stand is blocked.

The DFB’s statement read: “After the massive spectators’ incidents in the Bundesliga match against RB Leipzig as well as before the matches with Mainz and Hoffenheim and in the first game in Leipzig, the control committee of the German Football Association (DFB) calls for the blocking of the South stand in a Bundesliga match and a €100,000 fine for Borussia Dortmund.”

The DFB’s control committee has sent its recommendations to its sports court and to Dortmund, who have until Monday to respond.