police: Ruhr derby violence worst in years

Violent clashes between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke fans at the 141st Ruhr derby, which resulted in almost 200 arrests and left 11 people injured, was the worst in years, police said Sunday. Schalke claimed a 2-1 win at neighbours and defending Bundesliga champions Borussia, but the victory was over-shadowed by running battles between fans and police who used tear gas and water cannon to quell the unrest in Dortmund. A restaurant was destroyed and paving stones ripped up before being used as makeshift weapons as fans went on the rampage. Amongst the injured were eight police officers, while 180 fans -- 163 from Schalke and 17 from Dortmund -- were arrested. Charges ranged from assault and aggravated assault to resisting arrest, violations of laws regarding explosives and insulting officers. Police also reported fireworks, pepper spray, metal-reinforced gloves and other weapons were all seized. The organised violence is of obvious concern ahead of Wednesday's Champions League group game between Real Madrid and the German champions in Dortmund. "The level of violence was much more severe than in previous years," Manfred Radecke from the Dortmund police told SID, an AFP subsidiary, with the German Football Federation (DFB) almost certain to investigate. "We have to plan for riots and deploy the correct number of officers and put a plan in place. "But we hadn't expected that things would degenerate to such an extent and that we would need to use a water cannon and tear gas." Police used tear gas to break up a confrontation when a 600-strong group of Schalke fans was attacked by masked Dortmund supporters on their way to the Signal Iduna Park stadium. The water cannon was used to prevent Schalke fans tearing down a fence near the stadium, while a nearby restaurant was ransacked with Dortmund fans using the broken furnishings as weapons. Fans also tore up paving stones to use "as missiles against opposing fans and police officers". "We don't regard these people as football fans," added Radecke. "They use every opportunity to play out their aggression. If police have to step in, they are happy to target them as well." Meanwhile, in Bundesliga action on Sunday, Burkina Faso striker Aristide Bance had a 67th-minute header cleared off the line as Augsburg were denied a second consecutive league win after being held to a goalless draw at Nuremberg. The draw sees Augsburg remain 16th in the league, while Nuremberg drop to 15th after Stuttgart jumped up to 12th following their 1-0 victory at Hamburg on Sunday evening. Stuttgart striker Vedad Ibisevic scored the winner on 30 minutes as Hamburg suffered their first defeat in five games and it was Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart's first loss since signing from Tottenham Hotspur in August. Defeat drops Hamburg to tenth in the league while Stuttgart claim only their third win of the season. On Saturday, Bayern Munich hammered Fortuna Duesseldorf 5-0 to stay of the league and set a new Bundesliga record of eight straight wins since the start of the season. It was also the 300th Bundesliga victory for coach Jupp Heynckes.