Borussia Dortmund Bus Explosion Injures Defender Bartra

By Stanley Chuck

Following an explosion near Borussia Dortmund team bus, defender Marc Bartra has been said to have sustained an injury.

The incident took place when the bus was driving to their home stadium for Tuesday’s Champions League match, which has been postponed.

The German club confirmed multiple reports that Bartra had been taken to the hospital after windows were shattered in three explosions near the team bus.

Meanwhile, UEFA said the match, a quarterfinal first leg against Monaco, had been postponed until Wednesday at 6:45 P.M. local time (12:45 P.M. ET), adding that the decision to postpone the game “was made after a meeting held at the Westfalenstadion between UEFA, representative of the two clubs and local authorities.”

Dortmund originally said in a tweet that an “incident” occurred while the bus was departing for the Westfalenstadion and then confirmed an explosion.

Also, the club CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke said the team’s location after the incident was not being shared for security reasons.

According to him; “The current situation seems to be this. As the team came out of their hotel on the Wittbraucker Strasse, this is what I’ve been told by the police, there were explosive devices hidden in the hedge and they were somehow detonated. And there of course the team bus was affected.

“Marc Bartra was injured, he has injuries on his hand and his arm and he is being treated. He is in a hospital, but it’s not in any way life-threatening. The team of course is completely shocked, and our task is now to deal with it” he said.

A police statement reads; “It is not yet possible to say exactly what the explosion was or exactly where something exploded”.

It was discovered that Fans had already begun to enter the stadium, and an announcement said the situation there was “safe” and that there was “no reason to panic.”