The German Football Federation (DFB) launched an inquiry yesterday into allegations Hoffenheim employees used a sound system to drown out chants from Borussia Dortmund’s fans during a German league match.

German champions Dortmund lost 1-0 at Hoffenheim on Saturday and daily newspaper Bild shows pictures from the game of a device next to the bulk of Dortmund’s fans in the Hoffenheim stadium which reportedly drowned out the singing from the visiting fans.

A Dortmund fan has lodged a complaint with local police, claiming the noise generated by the machine – a portal PA system – was so loud it brought on tinnitus.

“Right now, we are launching preliminary inquiries to clarify the exact facts,” DFB media director Ralf Koettker has said.

A Hoffenheim employee is said to have used the machine after Dortmund fans sang songs aimed at Hoffenheim’s multi-millionaire owner Dietmar Hopp.

“In his own words, the employee wanted ‘an antidote’ against the insults towards Mr Hopp which he felt were no longer tolerable,” said the club in a statement.

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