Attack at youth football tournament – suspect is said to have hit the head from behind

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Ambulance (symbolic image)

Photo: Sachelle Babbar / ZUMA Wire / IMAGO

The 15-year-old teenager who was attacked on a Frankfurt soccer field is dead. This was confirmed by the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office to SPIEGEL. "The machines have been switched off, the teenager has died." The 16-year-old alleged perpetrator is in custody. The crime had occurred on Whit Sunday after the final whistle of an international match in the Frankfurt district of Eckenheim, in which a French and a Berlin team had competed against each other.

Already on Tuesday, the brain death of the teenager had been determined. According to the public prosecutor's office, the machines that subsequently supplied him remained switched on for the removal of donor organs for the time being. In the course of Wednesday, however, these were turned off. According to the public prosecutor's office, it is to be investigated for bodily injury resulting in death.

Blow from behind to the head

In the meantime, details of the alleged course of events have become known: As the »Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung« reported, citing the district court, the accused, who comes from France, is said to have first attacked another opponent and hit him in the face with both fists. He then took the 15-year-old into a sweatbox and hit him in the stomach area. At first, he was able to free himself and walk away. The accused ran after him and gave him a firm blow to the head from behind. When the teenager collapsed, he left. The public prosecutor's office confirmed that this is what happened.

The police are still looking for witnesses. Videos and photos could be uploaded online on a special page. The evaluation has not yet been completed, said a spokesman for the Frankfurt police headquarters.

"The fact that a young player was snatched from life after a football match in Frankfurt am Main leaves me stunned, leaves me speechless. I wish the relatives, the friends, the team an infinite amount of strength in this darkest hour," wrote Berlin's Senator for the Interior Iris Spranger (SPD) on Twitter.

The president of the Berlin Football Association, Bernd Schultz, was quoted in a statement: "Our thoughts and sympathy go out to all the relatives and team members of the affected player in these difficult hours." They stand by the club wherever they can.

In the 2021/22 season, the Berlin Football Association recorded a total of 1936 events that occupied the sports courts or were noted in match reports. Physical and verbal offenses are roughly balanced. 43.5 percent of the cases were registered in youth football.

swe/dpa/afp