Hamburg's match with Borussia Monchengladbach was interrupted for 15 minutes due to crowd trouble.GETTY IMAGES
Hamburg was relegated for the first time on Saturday as its fans threw flares onto the pitch as their team's "record uninterrupted top-flight run" since the Bundesliga began in '63 "came to a controversial end," according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. VfL Wolfsburg's 4-1 win over bottom club Cologne meant Hamburg's 2-1 home victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach, which was interrupted for 15 minutes due to the "crowd trouble" in stoppage time, "proved in vain." Club President Bernd Hoffman said, "This is an extremely painful moment for the entire Hamburg SV." Dozens of riot police, several on horses, charged on to the pitch and lined up in front of the Hamburg fans, who "lit flares and threw them behind the Gladbach goal when it became clear" that the team was on its way to the second division. The fires were extinguished and police "gradually left the field so the game could resume and the final seconds be played." Former Hamburg player Uwe Seeler said, "I cannot imagine Hamburg without Bundesliga football. I never thought that in my lifetime I would experience the relegation of Hamburg" (REUTERS, 5/12).
