BVB President Dr. Reinhard Rauball and Chairman of the Board Hans-Joachim Watzke have given their position regarding the incidents surrounding the Bundesliga game between Borussia Dortmund and RasenBallsport Leipzig, announcing they “strongly condemn all forms of violence”.

Dear Rasenballsport Leipzig fans,
Dear police officers,
Dear BVB fans,

We would like to be able to report back on yesterday’s victory but this sporting success is going to have to take a backseat in light of the incidents which occurred during the encounter.

Together with the police and other institutions responsible for the safety and health of the spectators at the stadium, we are currently intensively analysing those violent attacks and verbal incidents which occurred before and during the match.

Over the next few weeks, we, along with the police, will be analysing the film recordings and witness reports. We would like to pass on the request of the police, which is to report to the Dortmund police station if you witnessed anything significant which could lead to the perpetrators.

Unfortunately, our first findings are that there have been several injured fans and marshals. We would like to express our sincerest apologies for these, as well as on behalf of the large majority of peaceful BVB supporters, and wish them a speedy recovery. Borussia Dortmund strongly condemns all forms of violence as well as all outspoken personal insults!

We can assure you that BVB will be putting everything in place in order to shed light on the misconduct of our own supporters and to enforce strict punishments accordingly.

To make things crystal clear: whoever expresses their opinion through means of violence and insults as opposed to arguments, can, and will not be a part of the BVB family.

Our Black and Yellow regards,

Dr. Reinhard Rauball
President of Borussia Dortmund football club

Hans-Joachim Watzke
Chairman of the Board, Borussia Dortmund football club