Borussia Dortmund face huge fine and 'yellow wall' closure after RB Leipzig crowd trouble
Home fans spat, threw stones and launched glass bottles at the visitors while banners told Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick to 'hang yourself'
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Your support makes all the difference.Borussia Dortmund face a fine of €100,000 (£85,000) and the potential closure of their renowned "yellow wall" for one match following a recent spate of crowd trouble.
The German football association's control committee called for the measures on Friday following ugly scenes at the club's Westfalenstadion for last weekend's game against RB Leipzig and other recent matches against Mainz and Hoffenheim.
Leipzig supporters were spat at and attacked with stones and glass bottles outside the ground with police claiming "any recognisable Leipzig supporter - regardless of whether they were children, women or families" was a target.
Leipzig, who are owned by the energy drinks giant Red Bull, have quickly become the Bundesliga's most unpopular club, being perceived as a sign of corporate greed invading what is traditionally a league made up of fan-owned clubs.
Between three and four hundred Dortmund "ultras" attempted to stop the Leipzig team bus reaching the Westfalenstadion on Saturday and fans inside the ground held up banners calling Leipzig "football's enemy" and claiming "football belongs to us".
Another told the club's sporting director Ralf Rangnick, who once suffered from depression, to "hang yourself".
Those messages led to consternation across Germany and saw the "yellow wall" renamed in some quarters as the "wall of hate".
"I have never seen such images, such hate-filled grimaces in any of my police operations - I am shocked," said Dortmund police director Edzard Freyhoff in a statement.
In the fallout, Dortmund released a statement condemning the violence on Tuesday and fans held up banners apologising to Leipzig supporters during the midweek DFB Pokal (German cup) tie against Hertha Berlin.
"Borussia Dortmund deeply regrets that there have been riots against the fans coming from Leipzig," the club statement read.
"BVB strongly condemns this violence and will deal with the incidents together with the police, and will therefore not issue a further statement at this time."
But those apologies are unlikely to be enough for such poor behaviour.
At the start of the season Dortmund were given a fine of €75,000 and ordered to play one game with a partial closure of their south stand following four separate incidents of crowd trouble.
That punishment was suspended until 31 May 2017, with a warning that it would be enforced "if a serious repetition occurs" in the meantime.
Following the recent incidents that punishment looks set to be escalated, with the DFB's statement on Friday recommending that the fine be increased to €100,000 and the partial closure of the south stand upgraded to a total closure.
"Such slander and defamation of individual persons and associations by means of banners and shameful phrases is unacceptable and must be strictly sanctioned," said Dr Anton Nachreiner, chairman of the DFB's control committee.
Because much of the violence occurred outside the stadium, the DFB says it is powerless to enforce a punishment for those incidents. Police are reported to have started criminal proceedings in 32 cases.
The association's control committee has passed on its recommendations to its sports court and to the club itself.
A decision on the fine and stand closure will be made on Monday.
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