A chance encounter between supporters of FC St. Pauli and VfL Wolfsburg at Hannover's main station turned violent, leading to physical confrontations. Police separated the groups and issued bans to 270 St. Pauli fans for the match against Eintracht Frankfurt and over 250 Wolfsburg supporters for the game against Hamburger SV. In total, more than 520 fans were affected.
On Saturday, around 50 fans from the two northern clubs clashed at Hannover's main station. Bottle throwing, bodily injuries, and insults occurred, as reported by a Bundespolizei spokesperson. Police separated the groups, allowing supporters to continue their journeys to Hamburg and Frankfurt.
At Frankfurt's main station, the Bundespolizei initiated investigations against St. Pauli fans to establish identities of suspects and witnesses, involving extensive seizures and confiscations. At Hamburg-Harburg station, Wolfsburg supporters underwent criminal identity checks. Police seized over 100 pyrotechnic items and various masking utensils.
FC St. Pauli's president, Oke Göttlich, criticized the measures in ZDF-Sportstudio: "Issuing stay bans and city bans is collective punishment in the end." The club had previously called for de-escalation and questioned the proportionality of police actions: "In light of the information known so far about the incident in Hannover, the police measures appear at least questionable in terms of proportionality."
The incident prompted major police operations and highlights tensions among football fans ahead of Bundesliga matches.