Player injured, team rattled by blast near bus

DORTMUND, GERMANY Three explosions went off near the team bus of one of Germany ’s top soccer clubs as it set off for a Champions League quarter-final match on Tuesday evening, injuring a player.

Police said in a statement they were working on the assumption that the blasts were caused by “serious explosive devices” that may have been hidden in a hedge near a parking lot.

They didn’t elaborate on the possible nature of the devices or say who might have planted them ahead of first-leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Monaco, which was subsequently called off and rescheduled for Wednesday.

Police said there were three explosions near the Dortmund team bus as they left their hotel on the outskirts of the western city of Dortmund for the stadium, around 10 kilometres away.

A window on the bus was damaged and Spanish defender Marc Bartra was injured. Dortmund said Bartra was taken to hospital. Dortmund chief executive HansJoachim Watzke said Bartra was injured in the arm and hand, “but nothing life-threatening.”

Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki said the team bus had just pulled out of the hotel driveway when an explosion — a “huge bang” — occurred, sending glass flying. The Switzerland international told Swiss daily Blick that he was sitting in the last row of the bus, next to Bartra.

Bartra was hit by shards from the broken back window, he added. Other players ducked for cover.

“We’re all shocked — nobody thought about a football match in the minutes after that,” he said.

Inside the packed stadium, supporters of Monaco, which plays in the French league, chanted “Dortmund, Dortmund” in sympathy for the German side. Dortmund residents used social media to offer accommodation to stranded Monaco supporters ahead of their rescheduled match in Europe’s premier soccer club competition.