Police say 300 Schalke fans fought with Dortmund and Cologne rivals in a wooded area

By Canadian Press on September 21, 2025.

DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Hundreds of fans of German soccer club Schalke fought with rivals from Borussia Dortmund and Cologne in a wooded area, Dortmund police said Sunday.

The Schalke supporters were on their way back to Gelsenkirchen on a train following their team’s match at Magdeburg when someone pulled the emergency cord and several fans disembarked the train.

After a delay, the train continued but the emergency brake was activated again two minutes later near the Dortmund-Scharnhorst train station and a “larger group of people left the train and ran into a nearby wooded area” for “a physical alteration” against “violent Dortmund and Cologne fans,” the police said in a statement which did not mention any injuries.

Police encountered around 300 Schalke fans on a forest path, and around 90 Dortmund fans and five Cologne fans near a sports field, where they also found materials used for fighting including gloves, mouthguards and ski masks.

The items were confiscated, and the fans charged before their release with offenses including breaching the peace, causing dangerous bodily harm, and dangerous interference with rail traffic.

Police also found incriminating weapons among the Schalke fans. They face charges including breaching the peace, dangerous interference with rail traffic, and the misuse of emergency call systems.

Altogether the train was delayed for almost 75 between the two interruptions.

The police said their investigations are continuing.

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The Associated Press