Hertha hit 23 fans with three-year bans after riot

Hertha Berlin have banned 23 of their fans from all football stadiums in Germany for three years after supporters rioted at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium following last weekend’s defeat by Nuremberg.

After Nuremberg scored an injury-time winner in Berlin, around 100 spectators jumped barriers and chased the players off the pitch, threatening them with flagpoles which they then used to vandalise the bench area.

The German Football Federation (DFB) are investigating the violence which saw parts of the stadium damaged before police regained control, but Hertha have identified 23 fans and informed them that they are banned until July 2013.

Those identified also face police prosecution for breach of the peace and for damage caused by their pitch invasion.

At least one fan is being sued by Hertha for damaging their property.

The DFB are expected to reveal the findings of their investigation into the violence on Wednesday.

Hertha face Wolfsburg on Sunday in the German league and are five points adrift at the foot of the table which means they are set to be relegated from the Bundesliga when the season ends on May 8.