Wednesday 7 October 2015 10:52, UK
Schalke are set to receive a reduced amount of tickets for their Revierderby at local rivals Borussia Dortmund after their fans threatened to boycott the fixture.
According to Sport Bild, Dortmund are to send just 6,000 tickets to Schalke for the fixture on November 8 rather than the usual allocation for visiting supporters to the Westfalenstadion of 8,200.
Whether the revised allocation will even be sold remains in doubt, though, with many Schalke fans refusing to attend out of protest at the conditions imposed by local police authorities on their movements to and from the stadium on matchday.
Dortmund police want all Schalke fans to congregate in one isolated area, from where they will be escorted to the stadium on buses.
"Schalke have decided not to dictate to our own fans how they should make their way to the stadium," a Schalke club statement read. "We are also rejecting the introduction of personalised tickets with vouchers.
"Schalke would like to ask all of our fans to distance themselves from any violence or criminal damage, and not to burn any pyrotechnic material or provoke anybody, and they should distance themselves from anybody who should think differently to this."
The derby has been overshadowed by violent scenes inside and outside the stadium in recent seasons, leading to the police authorities' call for changes, such as a reduction in the number of visiting fans permitted to travel and more control over their movements.
It is not clear how many Schalke fans will adhere to the call by many of the club's fan groups to boycott the fixture.
