German football marred by weekend of fan violence

Gelsenkirchen police say they made 196 arrests at Schalke vs. Bayern Munich match.

Berlin: Despite increased security measures across German stadiums following the Paris attacks, there was a series of violent incidents involving rival fans as soccer showed its dark side this weekend.

Gelsenkirchen police say they made 196 arrests at Schalke vs. Bayern Munich in the worst of the violence yesterday night. There were more ugly scenes in Moenchengladbach, on trains and train stations involving Hannover and Werder Bremen fans in separate incidents, and at a third-division game when Magdeburg fans stormed the pitch and fought with stewards at SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach.

Security had been tight everywhere after Germany's friendly with the Netherlands in Hannover on Tuesday was called off due to an alleged threat to set off explosive devices at the stadium.