Flare thrown at Hannover vs. Wolfsburg lands near dugout, club apologises

Wolfsburg head coach Dieter Hecking has apologised after travelling supporters threw flares onto the pitch at Hannover on Tuesday.

One of the three flares that were sent pitch-bound landed next to the Hannover dugout prior to kickoff of Wolfsburg's 4-0 win.

"Folks who do stuff like that can't be right in the head," Hannover coach Thomas Schaaf said after the match.

Hecking apologised "for this misbehaviour" by "those responsible at Hannover."

The club's sporting executive Klaus Allofs said on Sky: "We don't want to see that. That's something we condemn."

However, he added that it might have been an answer by the club's fans who were not allowed to take flags or drums into the away end.

He said: "At home, we actually don't have any problems with our fans. We never had any incidents at home. Thus why we were surprised to see a reaction like that today."

Andre Schurrle scored a hat trick to help Wolfsburg to their emphatic victory, after the former Chelsea player's form had come under scrutiny.

"It does me extremely good," Schurrle told reporters. "A lot was written and talked in recent weeks, this was a clear answer. The win does all good.

"Finally, we've performed away from home. We needed those three points. It's also great to win by that margin. We need to put in more performances like that now."