German ‘ultra’ arrested over attack on Blues fan
POLICE in Germany have arrested a man after a Manchester City supporter was left fighting for his life in hospital after an alleged stadium assault during the club’s Champions League game against FC Schalke 04 last week.
Gelsenkirchen police said the 30-year-old suspect has been ‘transferred to a correctional facility’.
He hasn’t been named but was a member of the Schalke ‘ultras’ – a group of supporters known as the ‘Hugos’, the force said in a statement.
The police described the Hugos as a ‘problematic grouping of fans’.
The 32-year-old Blues fan, who hasn’t been named, was said last Thursday to be in a ‘critical condition’ in a hospital, with police saying there was ‘currently acute danger to life’.
According to Police Gelsenkirchen, there was a ‘violent confrontation’ involving two FC Schalke fans and two City supporters at around 10.50pm on a ‘promenade’ in front of a stand for away supporters at the Veltins Arena as the match, which City won 3-2, was nearing the end.
The City fan was said to have been ‘hit and tumbled to the ground’.
“Because of the fall the man suffered a severe traumatic brain injury,” read a statement by Police Gelsenkirchen.
There’s been no official update on his condition.
But according to City fans’ forums and social media, the news appears to be positive. A Go Fund Me page has also been launched.
It’s understood the City fan was at the game with members of his family and club officials remained in Germany after the incident was reported.
In a statement, Police Gelsenkirchen said the arrest was made at 10am on Monday. The statement said: “The police arranged a homicide division to help investigate the case.
“Their extensive investigations directed to the contemporary identification of a suspect. The 30-year old man from Gelsenkirchen is a member of the so-called ‘Hugos’, a problematic grouping of fans.
“The public prosecutor of Essen requested a writ of pre-trial custody at the responsible district court.
“The district court corresponded to that request. The 30-year-old was arrested on February 25 at 10am at the Vinckestrasse in the district of Buer in the city of Gelsenkirchen. He was then transferred to the correctional facility.”