From the BZ editorial team
On the field, the game ended in a draw, bloody, painful and shocking for the referee (27). Brutal supporters of the visiting team beat him to the hospital.
On Sunday afternoon, SV Phönix Bochum and CF Kurdistan Bochum competed in the district league. When the score was 1:1, the referee blew his whistle shortly after 5 p.m.
► From there everything goes like lightning. Men run from the edge of the field onto the artificial turf pitch. They beat the referee and knock the whistle out of his mouth. The man from Hamm falls to the ground, the attackers kick him.
Prime suspect escapes over fence
Result: facial fractures, skull injuries, lacerations.
While eyewitnesses are taking care of the seriously injured man and calling the police and emergency services, the alleged main perpetrator manages to escape over a fence. The manager (34) and the coach (60) of the visiting team CF Kurdistan are identified as two other attackers. The coach has since been suspended.
Even the day after the bloody attack, the hosts’ athletes were horrified. Franz Peterkord (57), first board member of SV Phönix: “I’ve been at home in football for decades, but I’ve never experienced anything like it. There was a lightning pack formation, the referee had no chance to escape the superiority and the attack. A limit has been crossed and I don’t know how to counteract this development.”
In fact, it was a balanced, fair game, and the visiting team had not been noticed negatively in the Westphalia district league so far. Apparently the situation escalated because CF Kurdistan lost the lead after a penalty.
Referee has been a victim of violence before
Referee Ayoub K. ended up in hospital after a game not for the first time. In 2020, a player sent off injured the then 25-year-old with a kick in the stomach and punches in the temple.
In the current case, the Bochum police are still looking for the main perpetrator. Peterkord: “He fled behind the gate over a fence onto the dump site. We still tried to track him down, but in vain.”
The suspect is about 1.85 meters tall, in his mid-30s and black-haired. He was wearing a red hoodie, black pants and black jacket.
Please send information to the police: ☎ 0234/9094441. In particular, the police are hoping for witnesses who have video or photo material of the attack.