A would-be photographer who climbed the roof of a soccer stadium in Germany prompted special forces and a helicopter to be deployed.
The Euros 2024 game between Germany and Denmark was briefly halted as the players on the field noticed the figure, dressed all in black, up in the rafters of the Signal Iduna Park stadium in Dortmund.
đ¨đ¨| BREAKING: A 21-year-old man has been arrested after climbing onto the roof during Germany vs Denmark at Euro2024.
The Game was briefly halted after the players noticed. Nobody knew how he got to the Roof of the stadium. pic.twitter.com/sfRMdBpYIT
â Football Latest (@footballatest_) June 30, 2024
The man was pursued by officers with obvious safety concerns that he could be making a political stunt or something worse. However, when police caught up with him he simply told them that he wanted to take âgood photosâ of the game below.
According to Deutsche Welle, the man was identified as a 21-year-old from the town of OsnabrĂźck. Police say he has a history of climbing tall buildings to take photos and was previously involved in two similar incidents in 2022 and earlier this year.
While any political or nefarious motivations were ruled out, the man might yet face charges for disturbing the peace.
âThere is currently no evidence that the man intended to endanger visitors to the stadium with his behavior,â police said in a statement.
The referee summoned the team captains from Germany and Denmark to make them aware of the photographer with the crowd generally not aware of his presence.
The match had already been disrupted by a severe thunder and lightning storm in the area.
Cracking cloud to ground #lightning over the #Dortmund area, Germany atm during the Germany Denmark match, which had paused the game. #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/AnnMXCTtCv
â WEATHER/ METEO WORLD (@StormchaserUKEU) June 29, 2024
Itâs unclear how the man entered the stadium in the first place as fans arenât allowed to bring in the type of large rucksack he was seen carrying.
It is not the first security lapse at the European soccer tournament: Fans have rushed the field in a bid to take selfies with Cristiano Ronaldo with one man almost colliding with the Portuguese superstar having jumped from the crowd.
At the opening ceremony on June 14, a German YouTuber filmed and later published a video showing how he entered the Munich stadium with fake credentials and made it onto the field while disguised in a mascot costume he bought online.