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Borussia Dortmund completed their victory over Mainz in near-silence on Sunday, with the ever-raucous crowd at Signal Iduna hushed from the collapse of two fans in the Yellow Wall during the first half. Both fans reportedly suffered heart attacks; one fan apparently passed away at the scene, while the other was resuscitated and taken to a hospital. Initial reports indicated the second fan passed away as well, but Dortmund's official news release reported that the fan made it to the hospital and has since stabilized.
The resulting show of respect was eerie: a murmur enveloped the stadium while shouts from the players and instructions from coaches were clearly audible from the pitch.
This is what you call respect. Silence. #BVBM05 pic.twitter.com/Ged6BBfhTI
— Alex Chaffer (@AlexChaffer) March 13, 2016
The players seemed to know something was amiss as well. Celebrations for Shinji Kagawa's goal to put Dortmund ahead by two goals were muted, and even Mainz's comeback attempts seemed a bit deflated. The only singing that occurred in the second half came in the 88th minute, as fans around the entire stadium gave a unified rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone":
You’ll never walk alone.
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) March 13, 2016
The stadium just gave the most bone-chiling rendition of YNWA outside of Liverpool.
— Lars Pollmann (@Ziz_kov) March 13, 2016
'You'll Never Walk Alone' rings around Signal Iduna Park. pic.twitter.com/hm0Zu3T3iv
— bvbstuff (@bvbstufff) March 13, 2016
After the referee whistled to end the game without any stoppage time. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. We will update this story as more official news is released. Echte Liebe, and You'll Never Walk Alone.
Bone-chilling. @BVB players stand arm in arm and sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" with supporters. https://t.co/tmo29HySif
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 13, 2016