A Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund player was injured on Tuesday "after three explosions went off next to the team bus" as it traveled to a Champions League match against Ligue 1 side Monaco in the west German city, according to Guy Chazan of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Dortmund police said that the blast "occurred shortly after 7pm in Dortmund-Höchsten," a southern suburb of the city, and "shattered" the bus' windows. The club tweeted that center-back Marc Bartra was injured. It said that he was "in hospital." The regional North Rhine-Westphalia police said, "We cannot say yet what caused the blast and what exactly exploded." Borussia Dortmund tweeted that the match had been canceled and would be "held instead on Wednesday." After the explosions, Borussia Dortmund "urged fans to remain in the stadium for the present and to stay calm." The club also thanked Monaco supporters, who had been chanting, "Dortmund! Dortmund!" in solidarity. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin was "deeply disturbed" by the incident and said, “The decision taken to postpone the UEFA Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco was the correct one since we must always prioritize the safety and security of all fans, team officials and players.” Dortmunders "were quick to offer help" to visiting fans with the hashtag #bedforawayfans trending on Twitter within a couple of hours of the news (FT, 4/11). In London, Mark Critchley wrote Bartra reportedly "suffered minor injuries in the incident." Bartra's mother told Spanish radio station Cope that her son "is being treated in hospital." Dortmund's official twitter account broke news of the incident, tweeting, "At our bus departure, an incident has occurred. One person was injured. More information to follow" (INDEPENDENT, 4/11).
GATHERING EVIDENCE: In London, Barney Henderson wrote German security sources said that "it was a targeted attack on the team bus." A German prosecutor said a letter was found near the site of the explosion taking "responsibility for the act," but police said they did not want to "jump to conclusions" and say the blast was "terror-related" (
TELEGRAPH, 4/12). The London DAILY MAIL reported Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said the explosives were "hidden by the exit of a hotel and detonated as the bus passed." Police also confirmed that additional "suspicious objects were found at the Dortmund team hotel" (
DAILY MAIL, 4/11). In London, Ed Aarons wrote Watzke said the Dortmund players "were suffering from severe shock." Watzke: "The team is in shock. We must get through this. ... Technically, it's possible to play [on Wednesday]. If the players are able to shake this off is an entirely different matter" (
GUARDIAN, 4/11). ESPN's 6pm SportsCenter led with news of the bombing and included comments from ESPN FC's Nick Miller via phone (
SBD Global).
