MUNICH, May 9 — Munich’s surfers celebrated today as the German city officially gave them the green light to again ride a river wave after a stormy year for the attraction.

The Eisbach wave on a side branch of the Isar River has been drawing surfers since the 1980s, and is a landmark in the Bavarian city.

But, after the death of an experienced surfer riding the wave at night in April last year, it was closed for two months. Then, the wave vanished in October after an annual cleanup on the riverbed.

It reappeared naturally several weeks ago and some surfers had already dared to ride it illegally — as authorities had still not formally given permission.

Today, however, Dominik Krause, Munich’s new Greens party mayor elected in March, said the wave was being re-opened, although with several conditions.

The attraction “is part of Munich’s way of life,” he said in a statement.

“We are happy, relieved and deeply grateful to see this place come back to life,” the Munich Surf Club said on Instagram.

“But no one should claim this moment as their own,” it added, stressing that the wave had returned naturally, and not thanks to “politicians”.

When the wave disappeared, angry surfers staged demonstrations and tried to recreate the attraction by placing a beam in the water — which was removed by authorities.

Munich authorities have tightened rules in a bid to ensure surfing on the river is safe.

These include no surfing after 10pm, and mandatory use of a system that allows the cord connecting the surfer to the board to be detached in case of emergencies. — AFP

MUNICH, May 8 — Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany will not allow his players to feel sorry for themselves after Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final exit to Paris St Germain and has urged them to finish the season strong with the German Cup still up for grabs.

The Bavarians have won the Bundesliga and reached the German Cup final but their 1-1 draw with PSG in Munich saw them eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition 6-5 on aggregate.

“It is normal to be disappointed, it was such a big goal and it cost a lot of energy,” Kompany told a press conference on Friday. “But from the next day it is only about the future.

“My role is to project that and how we must react.”

Kompany was criticised for playing too high a line and leaving gaps at the back in the two matches against PSG.

Bayern have conceded 12 goals in their last four games in all competitions but the Belgian said he would not change the way his team plays as long as they are scoring more goals than the opposition.

Bayern have shattered the record for most goals scored in a Bundesliga season with 116 so far and two matches remaining. The previous record was 101 set in 1971/72.

“We are very pragmatic people in Belgium. If the goal difference (in the Bundesliga) is an all-time record of 81 then you have done quite a lot so as not to lose matches,” Kompany said.

“We win the games and the goal difference shows that we do it with a great difference against our opponents.”

Bayern travel to struggling VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday in the penultimate match of the Bundesliga season before wrapping up their league campaign against Cologne a week later.

They then travel to Berlin to face VfB Stuttgart in the German Cup final on May 23.

Kompany said it was important for the side to show they have moved on from the Champions League exit.

“We want to show that this is already in the past and it is about what we can still achieve, not only in the next weeks but beyond,” he added. — Reuters 

PARIS, May 7 — Police arrested 127 people while 11 people were injured, including one seriously, during incidents in the French capital after Paris Saint-Germain reached the Champions League final, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Thursday.

Nunez said 23 officers also suffered minor injuries in violence that stemmed from wild celebrations following PSG’s 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich in Germany that sealed a 6-5 aggregate victory in the semi-final.

“One hundred and twenty-seven people were arrested in the Paris area, including 107 in Paris,” Nunez told CNews television channel and Europe 1 radio station.

“Eleven people were injured, including one seriously with a firework,” he added, while condemning the incidents.

The public prosecutor’s office told AFP that the arrests were for the “participation in a congregation aimed at committing acts of violence, for setting off fireworks, for violence and for causing damage by fire”.

Several vehicles were damaged in the unrest.

Nunez warned that police would act “just as forcefully” against such incidents on May 30, when PSG will play Arsenal in the Champions League final in Budapest, seeking to win Europe’s top club competition for the second year in a row.

“We won’t tolerate unrest,” he said.

He also criticised Paris’s new mayor Emmanuel Gregoire for having “unilaterally” announced that there would be a fan zone in the capital on May 30.

“Normally we talk about that a bit with the police prefect beforehand, which didn’t happen,” he said. — AFP 

MUNICH, May 7 — Holders Paris Saint-Germain set up a Champions League final against Arsenal after a 1-1 second-leg draw at Bayern Munich secured a 6-5 aggregate victory on Wednesday.

PSG exploded on the counter less than three minutes in and Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele put Luis Enrique’s visitors ahead on the night and two goals up in the tie.

PSG largely succeeded in subduing Bayern’s attacking threat, despite Harry Kane’s stoppage-time goal.

“It was an exceptional match, another magical night in Munich against a great team,” PSG forward Desire Doue told Canal Plus.

“These are the kinds of matches we’ve dreamt of playing since we were little. Now, we’re going to enjoy this as a team.”

On their return to Munich’s Allianz Arena, the scene of their greatest triumph against Inter Milan in last year’s final, PSG once again emphasised their excellence in a competition they coveted without success for so long.

The French giants will be favourites to lift the trophy for a second successive season when they face Premier League leaders Arsenal on May 30 in Budapest.

They are hoping to become only the second back-to-back winners since 1990, after Real Madrid.

Bayern were angered by some first-half refereeing decisions but lacked the potency they showed in their 5-4 first-leg loss in Paris.

The six-time European champions have still not reached the final since beating PSG in the 2020 showpiece in Lisbon.

“I don’t have the ability to be disappointed for long,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany. “Of course, in the end we lost two very, very tight games against a very good opponent.”

Both sides were playing their 52nd match of the season in all competitions — not even counting last summer’s Club World Cup — but only the hosts looked weary.

So dangerous in the first leg, Bayern were surprisingly stodgy, with Michael Olise in particular having an off night.

In the midst of a record-breaking season, Bayern’s fourth defeat in all competitions will sting for a club set to wonder what might have been.

Dembele strikes early 

With Bayern already Bundesliga champions and PSG also on track for the Ligue 1 title, both sides heavily rotated their line-ups in the weekend’s league fixtures.

But both teams only made one change to their starting XIs compared to last week’s spectacle in Paris. Only PSG’s was forced, with Fabian Ruiz in for the injured Achraf Hakimi.

The high-octane first leg was widely lauded as among the best matches in the competition’s history and Wednesday’s game offered more of the same early.

Ruiz, starting his first European match since January, set Khvicha Kvaratskhelia down the left flank with an excellent through ball.

The Georgian latched onto the pass, blazed past his marker before cutting back for the perfectly placed Dembele to slam home.

Bayern conceded after just 36 seconds against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals and fought back to win but seemed stunned by the early goal this time around.

Olise, Kane and Joshua Kimmich all mislaid passes in the opening half-hour, ending promising attacks.

Bayern surrounded referee Joao Pinheiro claiming a penalty on the half-hour mark when Vitinha’s clearance hit Joao Neves’s outstretched arm in the box, but their appeals were waved away.

The home players had already been left incensed when PSG full-back Nuno Mendes was not shown a second yellow card for handball.

PSG went inches from scoring a second but Manuel Neuer tipped a close-range Neves header just wide of the post.

The home team rediscovered their rhythm just before the break, with Jamal Musiala forcing an excellent low save from PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov and blasting over the bar.

PSG showed a more measured side to their game in the second half, sitting back to absorb Bayern pressure while never losing their own threat on the counter.

Neuer made fine saves from Kvaratskhelia and Doue to keep Bayern in the tie.

The Bavarians dominated possession and territory but could not break through until Kane scored for a seventh straight Champions League match in stoppage time.

There was time for the restart, but it was too little, too late for the hosts. — AFP 

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