Associated Press
DORTMUND, Germany — Local police say a player for German soccer team Borussia Dortmund was injured Tuesday following explosions near the team bus ahead of the Champions League quarterfinal match against Monaco.
The match, the first of two legs between the two sides in Europe’s premier club competition, has been postponed until Wednesday.
Stadium spokesman Norbert Dickel informed fans of the cancellation, saying that “there is no reason for panic here at the stadium.”
North Rhine-Westphalia police spokesman Gunnar Wortmann told The Associated Press that there were “three explosions near the (Borussia Dortmund) team bus as they left the hotel to go to the stadium” and that “there was one player injured inside and damage to a window.”
The chief executive of Borussia Dortmund said player Marc Bartra was injured on the arm and hand when the explosions went off near the team bus. Dortmund Chief Executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said the injuries to the Spanish defender were “nothing life-threatening.”
Dortmund police spokeswoman Nina Vogt says investigators do not yet know the source of the explosions that went off as the team was preparing to leave their hotel.
Police say the explosions took place in the run-up to the match at around 7 p.m. local time.
Dortmund is in western Germany, in the densely populated Ruhr industrial region.
Inside the packed stadium, supporters of Monaco, which plays in the French league, chanted “Dortmund, Dortmund” in sympathy for the German side.
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