Borussia Dortmund has criticized what it calls 'disproportionate' police measures that prevented some of its fans from traveling to Italy for Wednesday's Champions League match against Atalanta. The German club expressed surprise at the scope and scale of the police actions, stating such measures have never before been implemented for Dortmund's international away matches.

German authorities reportedly stopped Dortmund supporters from traveling over the weekend, though some prohibitions were successfully challenged in expedited proceedings. The Südtribune Dortmund supporters' group announced that active fan groups have reluctantly decided to stay away from the match in Bergamo due to ongoing federal police searches for up to 300 Dortmund fans whose presence has been banned.

Dortmund, which holds a 2-0 lead from the first leg of their playoff, said it 'expressly regrets that some of its fans will not be able to attend the away game in Bergamo in the stadium due to this questionable behavior by the authorities.' The club is seeking further information on the background and legal basis of these measures, which it describes as 'completely incomprehensible.'