Bochum’s Bundesliga meeting with Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday evening was abandoned on 71 minutes after an assistant referee was hit on the head with a cup of beer.
With Gladbach leading 2-0, an assistant was struck with an object from the stands - believed to be a cup of beer.
The actions prompted a stinging response from the club’s Twitter account.
“Delay in the game,” it read.
“Some idiot has thrown something towards the pitch and hit the linesman. The game has been delayed. Incredibly stupid and irresponsible behaviour, it has no place in a stadium! Idiot idiot idiot. Hopefully the linesman is ok.”
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Bochum players, including goalkeeper Manuel Riemann and captain Anthony Losilla were swiftly on hand to check on the assistant and to admonish those in the vicinity of where the cup was thrown from.
71': Delay in the game. Some idiot has thrown something towards the pitch and hit the linesman. The game has been delayed. Incredibly stupid and irresponsible behaviour, it has no place in a stadium! Idiot idiot idiot. Hopefully the linesman is ok.
0-0 #meinVfL #BOCBMG— VfL Bochum 1848 (@VfLBochum1848EN) March 18, 2022
Referee Benjamin Cortus called a halt to the game before opting to abandon the match a short time later.
"The match will not be restarted, #BOCBMG has been abandoned," Bochum added.
"We can only formally apologise to linesman Christian Gittelmannn. A highly embarrassing and bitter evening for us. An extremely stupid action from an idiotic fan."
The match between VFL Bochum and Borussia Monchengladbach has been abandoned after the assistant referee was struck by an item from the crowd. pic.twitter.com/OKAIvaEWZy
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 18, 2022
The incident took place a few hours after Bochum had posted a video on Twitter urging fans to drink their beer rather than throw it from the stands.
Gruß an alle Bierwerferinnen und Bierwerfer im Stadion! Hört mal lieber auf den Capitano...😉#meinVfL #BOCBMG pic.twitter.com/0fbKvdAu6h
— VfL Bochum 1848 (@VfLBochum1848eV) March 18, 2022
Bochum went into the game 10 points clear of the relegation and the relegation play-off positions.
Borussia Monchengladbach started the day two points behind Bochum on 31 points.