The home side was trailing 2-0 after goals from Alassane Plea and Breel Embolo in the space of six second-half minutes had given Gladbach the lead.

Embolo's goal just after the hour mark seemed to spur Bochum into action, and it went close to getting a goal back  in the 69th minute. Immediately after that chance, referee Benjamin Cortus blew his whistle and ran to the far touchline to attend to his assistant, Christian Gittelman, who was kneeling clutching the back of his head.

Replays confirmed a full glass of liquid, thought to be beer, had been thrown from the crowd behind Gittelman, striking him with some force. He initially threw the projectile aside and shook his head at the supporters, before realising he was in pain and going down to his knees.

As Gittelman made his way off the field, Bochum's players remonstrated angrily with the supporters, no doubt asking why such an aggressive and unnecessary act of violence had occurred.

After several minutes an announcement over the public address system informed everyone that the game was postponed because of the object being thrown from the crowd, the payers having already left the field.

Some 15 minutes after the incident, the Gladbach team came came back on to the field to farewell their traveling supporters, as  the stadium announcer revealed the game had been abandoned.

Fans were asked to leave the ground, and it remains to be seen what punishment, if any, is handed down to Bochum. It also remains unclear if the match will be awarded to Gladbach or replayed at a later date.

The match was already noteworthy for being the first Bundesliga game to be played between teams without coaches as Bochum's Thomas Reis and Gladbach counterpart Adi Hutter were both absent with COVID infections.