Schalke aim to prevent pitch invasion in case of Bundesliga promotion

Schalke do not want their fans to invade the pitch if they clinch a return into the Bundesliga on Saturday night.

Dpa and other media have learnt that Schalke are concerned about the safety of the fans and fear that technical equipment in their arena could be damaged, among other reasons.

Schalke will be promoted after three years in the second division if they beat lowly Fortuna Düsseldorf on Saturday night.

The last time they returned into the Bundesliga in 2022 the ensuing pitch invasion caused several injuries and "could have ended in a catastrophe," police director Peter Both said at the time.

This should not be repeated as in some areas fans would have to jump down four metres to get from the stands onto the pitch.

Police spokesman Thomas Nowaczyk was quoted by the Bild paper as saying that this time "the club intends to take measures to ensure everyone’s safety and to prevent a pitch invasion.

"We, as the police, are on standby at the stadium to avert any kind of danger. However, we will only intervene if there is a danger to life and limb; we want to avoid injuries at all costs.

"That is why we are once again appealing to all fans: please follow the instructions of the stewards and the stadium announcer so that everyone can celebrate a possible promotion happily and safely.”

Coming off a 3-2 comeback victory in a table topper at second-placed Paderborn there is huge confidence in the Schalke camp that they will succeed on Saturday, a year after almost being relegated into the third tier.

“We won’t let anyone take that away from us anymore. We won’t let anyone stop us anymore,” coach Miron Muslic has said.

A Schalke return would be a huge attraction for the Bundesliga.

They have the third biggest attendance in German football behind Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich with more than 60,000 per game. Schalke are also number three in the country in club member numbers, behind Bayern and Dortmund.