German police: 1,446 injured at football matches last season

German police recorded a slight decline in the number of officers and innocent bystanders injured at football matches during the last season to 1,446, in figures released on Friday.

The figure includes 195 police officers. The previous season the total was 1,501. The analysis took in 2,681 matches from the three professional leagues, the regional leagues, the German Cup and international competitions.

A standout finding was that 29% of all injuries occurred at just 35 matches, each of which involved major outbreaks of disorder.

"Repeatedly, there are unpredictable attacks on opposing fans or groups of supporters, often motivated by little more than a demonstration of power and the marking of territory that they consider their own," Michael Madre, head of the unit policing sports matches, said.

More than 120 people were injured by fireworks.

The unit notes there are unreported injuries and that not all incidents involving flares are officially recorded as criminal offences.

Overall, the number of criminal offences recorded rose to 7,668 during the last season, compared with 7,054 in the previous year.

From the police perspective, the number of stadium bans remains too low. Although 669 bans were imposed, up from 593 in the previous year, the unit considers this figure to be "comparatively low" in relation to the thousands of criminal offences recorded.

The unit puts the number of potentially violent football fans at 17,930 during the reporting period, compared with 17,958 in the previous year.

The interior minister for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul, said the extensive police operations required at matches were a concern.

"Around 2.6 million hours of operational deployment demonstrate the work our police force is doing. But it cannot spend every weekend making up for the shortcomings of others," he told dpa.

"Clubs must carry out proper checks at stadium entrances, employ effective security staff and show violent offenders the red card," Reul said.