DUSSELDORF: Arminia Bielefeld have apologised after criticism for celebrations after their second division title Sunday and promotion into the Bundesliga.
Defying strict social distancing rules owing to the coronavirus, some 3,000 fans had come to the arena to celebrate after the final match, and it took a massive police force to stop the team from parading through the fans.
The events drew harsh criticism from city officials and prompted a club apology on Tuesday.
“Arminia Bielefeld regrets what happened after the last second division home game against Heidenheim,” the club said, saying that “great emotions” and “unloading tension” led to the violation of the rules.
“Arminia Bielefeld apologizes for this misconduct to the citizens of Bielefeld, the administration and the authorities, as well as to the security partners,” the club said.
“Despite all the joy of the great sporting success, it shouldn’t have happened under any circumstances, especially since Arminia Bielefeld itself had publicly called in the run-up to the last match day to behave in accordance with the applicable corona regulations.”
Bielefeld, who were promoted a record-tying eighth time into the top tier, also on Tuesday announced the signing of Danish left back Jacob Laursen on a free transfer from Odense BK. – dpa
