Greenpeace action at EM game: "The snipers had him already in their sights"

The controversial Greenpeace campaign in the Munich EM stadium sparked a discussion about security during the European Football Championship.

"The Bavarian police will intensify air surveillance at the next three European Championship games, especially together with the helicopter squadron," said Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) of the German press agency on Wednesday.

In the unsuccessful protest before the German national team's European Championship game against France, the Bavarian interior minister said that the police deliberately did not shoot the paramotor plane that landed in the middle of the field. According to the Ministry of the Interior, there is a total flight ban over the stadium at the European Championship games. “It could have turned out very differently, also for the pilot,” emphasized Herrmann. “If the police had come to the conclusion that it was a terrorist attack, he would have had to pay for it with his life. The snipers deployed had him already in their sights. "

It is the task of the armed forces and the police to monitor the airspace, said the spokesman for the Munich police headquarters, Andreas Franken.

"We were able to perceive the approach shortly before and have already recognized in an initial assessment that this is an action by an environmental organization."

The pilot was arrested

A 38-year-old man from Pforzheim in Baden-Württemberg landed on the pitch in the Munich EM stadium shortly before the kick-off of the soccer game and injured two men who came to the hospital on the approach. A 42-year-old Ukrainian who had worked in the stadium was still in hospital the day after with injuries to his head and neck. A 36-year-old Frenchman, who was also not a spectator but was working in the stadium, was also injured in the head, but was able to leave the hospital the day after, according to the police.

The paramotor pilot was arrested and his plane was seized.

He is being investigated for various offenses, including serious interference with air traffic, trespassing and dangerous bodily harm.

According to the police, the man was already at large on Wednesday because there were no grounds for detention against him.

According to police spokesman Franken, he has not yet commented on the action.

According to the environmental protection organization Greenpeace, the pilot originally wanted to drop a large yellow ball into the arena - as a protest against sponsor Volkswagen.

He got caught in a steel cable construction on the stadium roof and went into a tailspin, so that he sank down into the stadium.

Greenpeace apologized in retrospect for the action.

There was also criticism from politics: Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) announced consequences. "That is dealt with precisely, these are clear violations," he told Bayerischer Rundfunk. “This is not a trivial offense.” The federal government also criticized it sharply. “It was an irresponsible action that put people in great danger,” said government spokesman Steffen Seibert in Berlin on Wednesday. The action had "thank God reasonably lightly", which was also "a great relief". Nonetheless, those responsible should “self-critically question the sense of such actions, which are about maximum spectacle for maximum PR impact,” said Seibert.

Several politicians, including the former Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Bavaria's interior minister, called for Greenpeace's charitable status to be put to the test: “This Greenpeace action was extremely irresponsible and out of the question. I say very clearly that it was completely unjustifiable from the start, and not just because it has now gone wrong. Many people's life and limb are in danger here. That is absolutely inconsiderate towards spectators and everyone involved in the stadium, ”said Herrmann. “That has nothing to do with environmental protection. That must also have serious consequences under criminal law. "

CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt demanded comprehensive clarification about further actions. "Greenpeace must now state whether further actions are planned or were in the context of the European Football Championship," said the chairman of the CSU MPs in the Bundestag on Wednesday in Berlin. Greenpeace must clarify who the originators of these ideas are and how the organization ensures that there is no further danger to the public and the people involved. The action was irresponsible.

"Anyone who, like Greenpeace, endangers the life and limb of people through cheap showmanship, not only harms the important issue of climate protection, but also jeopardizes their charitable status," said the legal policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, Jan-Marco Luczak (CDU), the " Handelsblatt ". Luczak described Greenpeace as a "repeat offender" and demanded from the environmentalists a "clear distancing and precautions that such illegal actions do not repeat themselves". Greenpeace had "clearly crossed a red line and not for the first time" in Munich.

This excess, which for the Munich police was almost the only downer on an otherwise very peaceful football evening, may not only have consequences for the pilot, but also for Greenpeace. "The commissioner 43 determined, which is responsible for processing politically motivated organizational crimes," said Franken. “We currently have one person.” Whether the number of accused will increase is the subject of the investigation.