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Football matches in Germany to hold minute's silence for Magdeburg victims

Mourners lay flowers near the site of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg
Mourners lay flowers near the site of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in MagdeburgRonny HARTMANN / AFP
First and second division football matches in Germany will kick off this weekend with a minute's silence in tribute to the victims of the attack in Magdeburg, the German Football League (DFL) announced in a statement.

Five people were killed and more than 200 injured when a man rammed a car into a crowded Christmas market on Friday evening.

"German professional football is shocked by the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg," the DFL wrote in a statement.

"The DFL recommends wearing a black armband of mourning for this weekend's Bundesliga and second division... and supports a minute of silence in tribute to the victims."

In addition, the German handball league has postponed the Bundesliga home match between Magdeburg and Eisenach, originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Police arrested a 50-year-old Saudi doctor of psychiatry at the scene, next to the battered SUV that had ploughed through the festive crowd.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the site on Saturday and called for unity while condemning the "terrible catastrophe".