Three ‘Serious Explosions’ Target German Soccer Team

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By Jacob Bojesson

Three “serious explosions” near a German soccer team’s bus Tuesday night led the Borussia Dortmund (BVB) club to call off its Champions League quarterfinal against AS Monaco.

The incident took place by the player hotel, as the team got ready to travel to the stadium. Defender Marc Bartra broke his wrist as a result of the explosions and had to go to the hospital. The team bus was damaged.

BVB and AS Monaco decided to postpone the game until Wednesday.

“There has been an attack with explosives on the team bus,” BVB’s chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke told Sky. “The whole team is in a state of shock — you can’t get pictures like that out of your head.”

"Dortmund" chants from the Monaco fans. #BVBASM pic.twitter.com/me8QI3Yufi

— Sandra Goldschmidt (@SanBorussia) April 11, 2017

Dear supporters of @AS_Monaco_EN! If you need accommodation in Dortmund, please check #bedforawayfans. #bvbasm

— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) April 11, 2017

BBC Sport – Borussia Dortmund to 'pull together' against Monaco after explosion sees game postponed https://t.co/XB1MTc1hdj

— Lazy Bugger (@saiyafs) April 11, 2017

The background is still unknown but police confirmed it was “serious explosions” and not firecrackers. A letter was discovered close to the scene but police did not comment on its content.

“We have to assume this is a targeted attack on the BVB team,” police president Gregor Lange said at a press conference. “We searched the crime scene from the air [to look] for further bombings. We decided at an early stage not to rule out anything.”

The Champions League is the world’s top club competition in soccer. BVB has been one of Europe’s top teams in recent years and it made the final in 2013.