March 17 – A dispute over fan banners blocking emergency exits caused kickoff to be delayed by nearly an hour in a German Bundesliga game between Bochum and Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
The referee sent both teams back to the dressing room after attempts to persuade visiting Frankfurt fans to remove the banners from certain areas of the security fence failed.
If the banners weren’t removed, the game would not have been able to take place, a stadium announcement warned the Frankfurt fans, “and that isn’t in your interests or ours.” The announcer said the emergency services were refusing to approve the game taking place.
The game eventually kicked off 50 minutes late after the banners were removed and both teams conducted a second warm-up. Frankfurt won the game 3-1.
Frankfurt are fourth in the Bundesliga and chasing Champions League qualification. They are also in the Europa League quarterfinals.
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