Dusseldorf, March 5, (dpa/GNA) – Police in Essen have identified a 50-year-old man, as the suspect to have set off a firecracker which injured Rot-Weiss Essen goalkeeper, Felix Wienand, during a third division match.
Police said on Thursday that the man has been released after his details were taken. He is being investigated for grievous bodily harm, and causing an explosion with explosives.
Wienand was the victim during a league match against Waldhof Mannheim on Wednesday. He went down and was taken to hospital, where an acoustic shock and a stress reaction were diagnosed, the club said on X.
The incident happened in the 53rd minute, with Essen leading 1-0. The match was interrupted for 45 minutes, but then continued with reserve keeper Tino Casali, taking Wienand’s place and Essen winning 1-0.
The German Football Federation (DFB) has started an investigation, and requested a statement from the Mannheim club, which for its part condemned the incident.
It said the firecracker was set off in the last row of the away end in the Essen stadium, but also that pyrotechnics had been used throughout the match in several areas of the arena.
GNA