Torunarigha lodges police complaint over racist abuse

The visibly upset Torunarigha was sent off for a second yellow card during extra time in Hertha's 3-2 extra-time defeat on Tuesday after allegedly hearing monkey chants and other racist abuse in Gelsenkirchen.

Hertha confirmed on Friday to AFP subsidiary SID that the 22-year-old has now lodged a complaint with Gelsenkirchen police. The Bundesliga club say he has their full support. Police in Gelsenkirchen and the German Football Association (DFB) had already started investigations.

On Thursday, Torunarigha slammed the "idiots" responsible on social media.

"I was born in Chemnitz and already went through all that in my youth," he wrote on Instagram. "My parents were insulted. That's why a situation like Schalke's upsets me so much. You can't choose your skin colour at birth, and it shouldn't matter at all."

According to Hertha's statement to the DFB, the racist abuse was heard in the 84th minute and came from block S5 at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen. Schalke have asked their fans for help finding the culprits, who are threatened with stadium bans and their membership cancelled, if they are club members. Former Schalke captain and 2014 World Cup winner Benedikt Hoewedes has said there can be no place for racism in German football.

"One has to confront fans who are making monkey sounds - and yes, even stop a game when such shouts come from the stands," the 31-year-old wrote in a column for news portal t-online.de.