Frankfurt (AFP)
The Greenpeace activist who failed to crash into the stands Tuesday night before the start of the France-Germany Euro match in Munich, in fact only wanted to "fly over" the stadium at the start, said the environmental organization.
The pilot of the ULM-type machine "should have flown over the stadium and dropped a latex balloon" with the message "Kick out Oil", according to a spokesperson.
"Technical difficulties forced him to land in the stadium," according to a statement posted on the association's website.
Two men were injured, taken care of by rescuers at the stadium and then transported to hospital "for examinations", according to the Munich police.
The driver of the ULM, a 38-year-old man residing in the German region of Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany, escaped the landing unscathed before being arrested.
An investigation has been opened for "several offenses" falling under both criminal law and legislation on air transport, which strictly limits the possibilities of overflight, the police said in a statement.
UEFA condemned a "reckless act" and the German Federation (DFB) deemed the action "unacceptable".
"We are sorry that the protest action did not go as planned" and "regret that people were endangered and injured," the spokesperson added.
Greenpeace's message was addressed to the car manufacturer Volkswagen, one of the main sponsors of the Euro organized this year in an unprecedented format with eleven host cities in eleven countries.
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"Our demand: stop selling diesel and gasoline cars that are bad for the climate," the organization tweeted shortly after the incident on its German account.
UEFA defended its environmental policy on Tuesday evening, saying it was "fully committed to making this Euro a sustainable tournament".
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