ARSENAL flops Sead Kolasinac and Shkodran Mustafi were among the Schalke stars attacked by a mob of their own fans on Tuesday night.
Kolasinac returned to his former club on loan in January, while centre-back Mustafi joined the Germans on a permanent deal.
The pair played in Schalke’s 1-0 loss at Arminia Bielefeld, which sealed their relegation from the Bundesliga.
It marked an almighty fall from grace for the club which ranked 16th in Europe for revenue in 2020, having made the Champions League knockouts only two years ago.
A 600-strong mob of Schalke fans reportedly waited for the team bus to return to their Veltins-Arena home in Gelsenkirchen at 1am.
Several players were left bloodied after being struck, while eggs and fireworks were thrown and abuse hurled as the terrified squad ran a gauntlet of rage.
Police and club officials have opened enquiries into the mayhem.
Local police chief Matthias Buscher said: “We were expecting a group of fans to speak their minds to the Schalke players when their bus returned to the stadium.
“We’d been tipped off about it beforehand, so police were present in numbers.
“Suddenly however there were massive attacks. Two players were struck, and eggs and fireworks flew through the air.
“The players ran off, and hundreds of officers had to intervene.
“No arrests were made. But we are investigating whether there are criminal complaints against those involved in the attack.”
Fireworks were also seen over the city during the night, reportedly set off by celebrating fans of bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Sources close to several Schalke squad members told German media that the players had been pelted with objects.
Schalke said in a statement: “A number of unidentified people overstepped the boundaries, and this is unacceptable for us.
“We understand the frustration and anger at our relegation to the second division.
“But we will never accept our players and staff being put at risk of injury. We have begun an enquiry.”
Bosnia & Herzegovina international Kolasinac is currently due to rejoin Arsenal this summer.
The Gunners paid Valencia £35million for Germany defender Mustafi in 2016, but let him leave for Schalke in February.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
