This is the poignant moment FC Magdeburg players stood in silence and solidarity with fans despite a huge victory over their opponents as news of a horrific Christmas market attack that has killed at least eleven and injured dozens filtered into the stadium.
FC Magdeburg secured a 5-2 victory against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Friday night, but there were no cheers or celebrations, just silence, once the final whistle blew.
Screens inside the Düsseldorf Merkur Spiel-Arena, which has capacity for 54,000 fans, displayed a message relaying news of a car having driven into a group of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday night, leaving at least one person dead and almost 70 people injured. Fifteen are thought to have serious injuries.
The driver of the car, reported to be a dark BMW, was arrested following the crash at 7.04pm today, according to unidentified government officials in the state of Saxony-Anhalt who spoke to dpa news agency.
Ten minutes before the end of the match, the stadium screens in Düsseldorf read: ‘A car drove into a group of people at the Christmas market in Magdeburg. The stands have therefore stopped supporting the game,’ Bild reports.
At the end of the game, the players headed straight to their dressing rooms and did not speak to the media.
Fortuna striker André Hoffmann later said: ‘I received some information during the second half. It is clear that football immediately takes a back seat. There are more important things. I would like to express our condolences on behalf of everyone.’
Schalke player Ron Schallenberg added that his thoughts were with Magdeburg and said: ‘Now football is taking a back seat.’
This is the poignant moment FC Magdeburg players stood in silence and solidarity with fans despite a huge victory as news of a horrific Christmas market attack filtered into the stadium
The players were left stunned by reports that at least one person has been killed dozens injured after a car drive into a crowd at Christmas market in their home city Magdeburg
The driver of the car, reported to be a dark BMW, was arrested following the crash which took place at 7.04pm today
According to emergency services, who have set up tents to immediately treat victims, several people were ‘severely’ injured.
Video footage too graphic to share appears to show the dark car careening into the dense crowd, leaving dozens of people lying on the floor.
Within seconds, countless revellers can be see fleeing for their lives in the wake of the crash.
Separate footage showed children crying loudly as several small crowds of people formed over those injured in the crash, in apparent attempts to help them.
One man who spoke to German newspaper Mitteldeutsche Zeitung said the Christmas market has turned to ‘war-like conditions’, while another eyewitness told the newspaper that there were countless families in the ‘fairytale area’ of the market when the car crashed through the crowd.
Local police said on X that ‘extensive police operations are currently taking place’, adding that further reports will be made shortly.
The Magdeburg Christmas market is located on the Old Market, directly next to Magdeburg Town Hall near the River Elbe, and was closed by organisers following the incident.
Organisers have also asked people to leave the city centre. Neighbouring cities, including Halle, around 50 miles from Magdeburg, are preparing its hospitals to take on victims.
Ten minutes before the end of the match, the stadium screens in Düsseldorf read: ‘A car drove into a group of people at the Christmas market in Magdeburg. The stands have therefore stopped supporting the game’
At the end of the game, the players looked distraught before heading straight to their dressing rooms without speaking to the media
At least one person is reported to have died in the crash
A car drove into a group of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, leaving between 60 and 80 people injured
Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, is the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 240,000 inhabitants
The horror crash comes less than a month after Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser said that while there were no concrete indications of a danger to Christmas markets this year, it was wise to be vigilant.
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