Some 700 Turkish football fans are under investigation by German police following Galatasaray's Champions League match at Borussia Dortmund, with a homicide division probing a case of attempted manslaughter during the game.
Dortmund's 4-1 win on Tuesday was overshadowed by rioting Galatasaray fans in the second half, and the game twice came close to being abandoned when flares, bangers, and even seats were thrown onto the pitch and into adjacent blocks of the stadium from the away end.
Following the final whistle, Dortmund police kept some 700 Galatasaray supporters in the away end and checked their identification papers into the late hours, with one source telling ESPN FC that they were still inside the Westfalenstadion at 1.30 a.m. local time.
On Wednesday, Dortmund police presented seized evidence including a knife, brass knuckles and masks during a news conference. The local paper Ruhr Nachrichten reports that Dortmund Chief Constable Gregor Lange called parts of the away support "criminals," adding that "lives were put into danger."
Also speaking at the news conference, the officer-in-charge Edzard Feyhoff said that 21 people were arrested, and that during the shutting off of the away end following the match Dortmund fans tried to attack the Galatasaray fans. However, police was able to stop the attacks, with Feyhoff confirming: "No fans got hurt."
The Borussia Dortmund head of organisations Christian Hockenjos reiterated that the club are "extremely shocked" by the incidents, especially "given the deeds were committed without any respect for the physical integrity of other people."
He added that, according to the Red Cross, 10 people were injured in the stadium, and voiced his hope that "at least 200 perpetrators can be identified."
Prosecutor Birgit Cirullies reported one incident where a 3.6 kg seat construction was thrown 10 metres down from the upper tier into the lower tier.
"A person could have died," she said, announcing that a homicide squad has taken over the investigation in that particular case.