Dresden under pressure after rioting

The Dynamo Dresden supporters that rioted have led to a discussion about the club possibly being banished from the German leagues.

Dresden fans injured 17 police and looted a supermarket ahead of their Bundesliga II away game at Arminia Bielefeld last Friday.

“The extent of the violence leaves us shocked. Once again, perpetrators of violence, dressed in black and yellow, ensured Dynamo is mentioned in the same breath as turmoil, riots and mayhem,” Dresden executive Christian Mueller said in a press statement.

At the weekend, Arminia Bielefeld executive Marcus Uhlig started a discussion about the future of Dresden, when he called for the side's exclusion from the Bundesliga.

He later clarified his statement, adding that excluding Dresden would be “the last resort” and it was more important to “make football safe.”

“To our knowledge this was indeed our fans, because the violence resulted from passengers from the chartered train. We can’t ignore these events,” Dresden president Andreas Ritter admitted on MRD radio on Monday.

“It is a fact that we as a club are unable to cope with what happens in front of the stadium gates. I want the police to take action against the perpetrators,” he said. “Those are criminals.”

Dresden coach Olaf Janssen also appealed to the “98 percent” of the fans who are there for the football. Janssen said: “Don’t look away. Don’t harbour the criminals. Rise up and defy them. Push them into the first row, so that justice can sentence them.

"Hand hate and violence no chance. Because hate and violence will destroy football. The football you love so much and ultimately also your club."

The German Football Association (DFB) had banned Dynamo Dresden from the ongoing DFB-Pokal following fan riots during their cup away games at Hannover last season and Dortmund the season before last.

Only recently, the DFB and Dynamo Dresden reached an agreement for a fresh start after 17 proceedings against a payment of 30,000 euros were halted.

“First of all we now expect an immediate reaction and a clear positioning by the club,” DFB vice-president Rainer Koch told Sport Bild. “It is not enough when only the executive Christian Mueller distances himself and apologises. The board of directors and the Ultra groups need to make statements as well.”