CTTO/CNN NEWS
Dortmund, Germany – A 21-year-old man from Osnabrück was arrested after climbing onto the roof of the BVB Stadion during Germany’s last-16 match against Denmark at Euro 2024, according to local police.
The Dortmund police reported that they first detected the man’s presence on the stadium roof at 10:11 p.m. local time on Saturday. They monitored his movements using drones and a helicopter. Social media clips show a man dressed in black with his face covered, climbing in the rafters of the stadium.
“At no point was there a danger posed for other people in the stadium. Dortmund police have ruled out any political motivation,” the police said in a statement.
The man was arrested at 11:44 p.m. local time after complying with police requests. He was found carrying camera equipment in his bag. During his detention, he explained to the police that he had climbed onto the roof to take “good photos.”
Further investigation revealed that the man had previously attempted to take photos of prominent buildings from great heights in April 2022 in Herne and in May 2024 in Ulm. He has been released while charges of trespassing are being processed.
UEFA, European football’s governing body, emphasized that stadium safety and security are their “ultimate priority” along with the German football association and tournament organizers. “UEFA would like to commend the police, stadium, and local authorities for their cooperation in the incident last night in Dortmund involving an individual arrested by the police on the stadium roof,” UEFA told CNN in a statement. “The very professional action by police and special forces, and the excellent cooperation between the DFB, EURO 2024 GmbH, and authority representatives onsite was crucial to the successful resolution of the incident without harm to anybody as well as the successful delivery of the match.”
Dortmund police stated that they and UEFA would now investigate how the man managed to get onto the roof.
Germany, the host of Euro 2024, beat Denmark 2-0 on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals in a game that was suspended for approximately 25 minutes due to lightning and heavy rain.
