Berlin police emergency vehicles guard the entrances to Hertha’s training grounds at Schenkendorffplatz Photo: Paul Gorgas
By Paul Gorgas
Day 1 after the Hertha earthquake! On Saturday evening the derby against Union in the Olympic Stadium was lost 0:2. Shortly thereafter, manager Bobic and other responsible persons were dismissed. The next Hertha training session took place the following morning – under police protection.
Several emergency vehicles were parked around the training ground at Schenckendorffplatz. Plainclothes officials are also said to have been on site. The crew’s departure began as scheduled at 11 a.m. The emergency services had been at the site since 10 a.m.
According to BZ information, the situation on site initially remained calm. There were initially no incidents with fans until midday.
At 11 a.m. on Sunday morning, the team started to sail Photo: Paul Gorgas
The background to the security measure could be incidents in the past. After Hertha lost 3-2 to Union in the DFB Cup at the end of January 2021, parts of the organized fan scene stormed the afternoon training session. Around 100 people invaded the site and vented their frustration on the team.
The outraged supporters loudly insulted some players and accused them of a lack of mentality and commitment. After a while, the fans left the training ground again.
At the time, Hertha told BZ: “We can confirm that a group of fans from the organized fan scene was at non-public training. They left the site in an orderly manner after delivering their message to the team.”
On Sunday afternoon there was initially no feared repetition. The departure was completed at around 11:40 a.m. The emergency services then withdrew.
A press conference has been announced for Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.), which will primarily deal with the surprising expulsion of Fredi Bobic and the coming weeks for Hertha, which is threatened with relegation.