Football
Mark Rodden 8y

Schalke fan group boycott derby clash at Borussia Dortmund

Some Schalke supporters are planning to boycott next month's derby with local rivals Borussia Dortmund because of a reduced ticket allocation and restrictions on their movement.

Dortmund are due to host this season's first Revierderby on Nov. 8, but the Ultras Gelsenkirchen fan group announced on its website that its members would not be making the trip to the Westfalenstadion.

They are unhappy that only 6,500 tickets will be made available for visiting supporters, as opposed to 8,000 in previous years.

Ruhr Nachrichten reports that local police justified their decision to tighten security by referencing the behaviour of some Schalke fans on their last visit to Dortmund in February of this year.

Police said fans had taken part in an "unlawful" march from a train station to the stadium, while they were also forced to investigate more problems compared to the previous year's derby, including 51 cases of violent disorder.

Dortmund and Schalke are currently second and third respectively in the Bundesliga.

Meanwhile, Schalke forward Franco Di Santo says he will redouble his efforts at training so that he can finally get his first Bundesliga goal for the club.

Di Santo earned a move to the club this summer after hitting 13 league goals for Werder Bremen last term.

But despite striking four times in the DFB Pokal and the Europa League, the former Chelsea, Blackburn and Wigan player has failed to find the net in his first eight league matches for Schalke.

"Obviously I'm disappointed that I haven't scored in the league so far," he told Bild. "It annoys me.

"I'll have to step things up again now but I know that the coach has faith in me. I'm going to train hard so that things start working again."

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