Gittelman got on his knees and shook his head, while several players, mainly Bochum players, ran to the stands on the long side and confronted the supporters.

Bochum later announced that the match will not be resumed.

"The match will not be resumed.

We can only apologize to line judge Christian Gittelmann.

A very embarrassing and bitter evening for us.

An extremely stupid act from an idiotic fan ", Bochum writes on Twitter.

Had to be cared for in hospital

Already earlier in the match, the speaker at the arena had appealed to the supporters not to throw things on the pitch, writes the news agency AP.

The day after the incident, Judge Gittelman says that he received care in hospital yesterday.

- An injury to the skull and whiplash was found, he says in an interview on the German Football Association's website, where he explains that he hopes to be able to referee an international match next weekend.

The incident is being investigated

He hopes for tougher measures against similar incidents.

- A national policy on zero tolerance, with clear penalties, must be developed.

That is the only way to stop this kind of violence, he says.

The German Football Association is now investigating the incident and has not yet decided whether the match will be resumed at a later time.