The climber is a 21-year-old from Osnabrück, the police announced on Sunday morning. The man has been arrested. So far there is no evidence that the 21-year-old wanted to endanger the stadium visitors, they said.
Emergency services approached the man in the stadium and spoke to him. A helicopter also illuminated the stadium roof. According to police, the man had already reached the roof of the stadium at 10:27 p.m. The police were initially unable to provide any information regarding his motive. It was also initially unclear how he got onto the roof.
However, video footage showed that the man was masked and carrying a large backpack. The footage, published by the English newspaper “Daily Mail”, shows the man being arrested by the police. The images show that he climbed from the accessible platforms under the stadium roof onto the struts of the roof structure.
The German and Danish players were informed regarding the man on the roof structure. However, the events had no concrete impact on the course of the game or on the departure following the match. As the German Football Association confirmed on Sunday, referee Michael Oliver reported the events to the captains of both teams before the kick-off of the second half on Saturday evening.
The English referee asked Ilkay Gündogan and Kasper Schmeichel to go to the middle of the pitch following he himself had been advised to do so by a UEFA delegate. Pictures showed all three of them looking up towards the roof of the stadium. The match then continued without any noticeable disruption to the players.
The incident raises questions regarding the security concept for the European Championship. There have been repeated incidents in recent days when spectators have come onto the pitch to take a photo with the players.
