With Germany hit

Lightning and hail! Players save themselves in the catacombs

The match had to be interrupted at 9.36 pm.(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Out, out - quickly into the catacombs! At 9.36 pm, referee Michael Oliver from England had to interrupt the European Championship round of 16 match between hosts Germany and Denmark. For safety reasons!

Because lightning, torrential rain and even hail fell over Signal Iduna Park from the 37th minute onwards, the match in Dortmund had to be interrupted for exactly 23 minutes on Saturday evening for safety reasons.

(Bild: AFP/APA/KENZO TRIBOUILLARD)

The spectators took it with humor, singing "Oh, how beautiful it is!" despite the disgusting conditions. A few Danish fans even stood under a waterfall that was pouring down from the stadium roof.

(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Fan zones cleared
Not quite so much fun: the public viewing event in Westfalenpark had to be canceled and the area cleared because the danger was too great.

The public viewing event in Gelsenkirchen also had to be canceled. The reason was a thunderstorm front with gusts of wind force 9, the city announced. Fences were reportedly damaged and posters flew through the air.

(Bild: AFP/APA/Alberto PIZZOLI)

The city of Frankfurt took early action and declared that the fan zone would remain closed for the whole of Saturday. The organizers and security authorities had intensively assessed the situation with the German Weather Service. "They have come to the conclusion that the Frankfurt fan zone cannot be operated safely with these forecasts," it said.

Nevertheless, the match was restarted after 23 minutes.

A bitter pill for Dortmund: the preliminary round match between Turkey and Georgia had already been affected by heavy rain. It was only thanks to countless helpers that the match was able to go ahead as planned.