Flares were lit by the BVB fans and fired by the Greek supporters before an attempt was made by the PAOK faithful to storm the BVB block after the final whistle. The dark side of football reared its ugly head at the start of the second half of BVB's UEFA Europa League tie against PAOK, with unsavoury scenes occurring after the final whistle too.

"It was our lot who started it. Such behaviour cannot be tolerated," said BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke: "We made our position clear to the groups concerned before the match. Now we need to review what happened. As a general principle, I think it's important to hear from all those involved. But today's events were very clear. We will be given another hefty fine for this. If you disrupt a match, then you've crossed the line. It's no longer acceptable."

After the final whistle the team held a discussion on the pitch as to whether they should go over to the travelling fans. Ultimately, they chose to do so for two reasons: on the one hand, to make their opinion clear; on the other hand, they went over in the knowledge "that it was a small minority causing the chaos," according to coach Thomas Tuchel. "The other 1,300 fans deserved the team to go over and thank them for their support. However, I can completely understand the question of whether they might have decided to take a stance." (br)