27 days after the riots before the European Cup game in Nice, the police in Cologne arrested five suspects. The homes of 16 suspects were searched.
Cologne (dpa / lnw) – pyrotechnics, kicks in the face, hits with metal posts – it was disturbing images that went through the media at 1. FC Köln’s European Cup game at OGC Nice. Almost a month after the events of September 8, 16 people suspected of being involved received a surprise visit from the police on Wednesday morning: around 400 officers searched their homes in Cologne, Hürth, Pulheim and Bergisch Gladbach. Arrest warrants were executed against five men, according to the Cologne police.
The 16 suspects are all already known as “violent sport offenders”, three of them even as intensive offenders, said chief detective Michael Esser. During the raid, officers seized batons, bengalos and tasers, among other things. They also confiscated the suspects’ mobile phones – they are now to be evaluated in the hope of finding other perpetrators. Witnesses who posted a total of around 800 files on a police information portal, including 600 videos, made a significant contribution to the investigation.
According to the police, the five arrested between the ages of 22 and 43 are accused of serious breach of the peace and dangerous bodily harm. The other suspects did not meet the requirements for an arrest warrant, as Esser said.
The North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) said in Düsseldorf that the pictures of the riots in Nice were appalling: “Apparently these people only have one thing in mind: riots, riots and violence. It has nothing to do with football or fan culture do.” Cologne police chief Falk Schnabel said: “The perpetrators in Nice not only caused serious damage to their victims, but also to 1. FC Köln and the reputation of football.”
The personal details of all suspects were forwarded to 1. FC Köln on Wednesday so that the club could impose stadium bans, said Schnabel. The FC must now be measured by “whether he reacts quickly with measures that are his responsibility”. For their part, the Cologne police have issued bans on entering the stadium for two suspects so far.
The raids were deliberately scheduled for the day before the next group game in the Conference League – to “send a clear and deterrent signal against violence in football,” as Schnabel said. On Thursday, 1. FC Köln will play Partizan Belgrade at home. According to Kripochef Esser, 270 ultras and 80 hooligans are expected from the Cologne side. Among the 700 guest fans are expected to be 100 to 150 “risk people”.
1. FC Köln has already been fined by UEFA for the fan riots. The Rhinelanders were fined 100,000 euros, and no tickets may be sold to FC fans in the next two away games in the Conference League. The firing of pyrotechnics, the throwing of objects and the unrest in the stands at the game in Nice were penalized.
