bassethound
16-08-11, 14:41
An employee at Bundesliga club Hoffenheim is facing legal action for inventing a high-frequency sound system as an "antidote" to visiting fans' chants during their 1-0 home win over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
The man, who now faces disciplinary action as well as potential arrest, deployed a sound system emitting a shrill ringing noise meant to irritate the away fans and disrupt their chants targeting Hoffenheim's billionaire investor Dietmar Hopp.
"An employee came forward and admitted that he had put in the equipment," Hoffenheim said in a statement on Tuesday, a day after a Dortmund fan filed a police complaint for bodily harm following the incident in which play was not affected.
The club said its employee had wanted to create an "antidote" to what he thought were unbearable insults against Hopp by the visiting Dortmund fans.
"He also said he was unaware of the seriousness of his action which was mainly supposed to be humorous.
"Neither the club nor the president nor Mr Hopp were aware of the equipment's existence. We distance ourselves from such an action and apologise to all football fans if their experience was affected."
Still pictures taken during the game showed a man with headphones sitting in a tunnel immediately under the travelling fans' stand with a home-made wooden construction that included two speakers.
Heidelberg police, who have asked for the apparatus to be delivered to them, are still investigating the incident.
The man, who now faces disciplinary action as well as potential arrest, deployed a sound system emitting a shrill ringing noise meant to irritate the away fans and disrupt their chants targeting Hoffenheim's billionaire investor Dietmar Hopp.
"An employee came forward and admitted that he had put in the equipment," Hoffenheim said in a statement on Tuesday, a day after a Dortmund fan filed a police complaint for bodily harm following the incident in which play was not affected.
The club said its employee had wanted to create an "antidote" to what he thought were unbearable insults against Hopp by the visiting Dortmund fans.
"He also said he was unaware of the seriousness of his action which was mainly supposed to be humorous.
"Neither the club nor the president nor Mr Hopp were aware of the equipment's existence. We distance ourselves from such an action and apologise to all football fans if their experience was affected."
Still pictures taken during the game showed a man with headphones sitting in a tunnel immediately under the travelling fans' stand with a home-made wooden construction that included two speakers.
Heidelberg police, who have asked for the apparatus to be delivered to them, are still investigating the incident.