Hoffenheim apologize for trying to drown out Dortmund fans

No, that weird noise you hear mixed in with the traveling Borussia Dortmund fans singing isn't the sound of an alien invasion from a '50s B-movie, it's actually Hoffenheim's sneaky yet blatant attempt to drown out the visiting support during their 1-0 win on Saturday.

From the AP:

In a statement on the club's website Monday, Hoffenheim said one employee was responsible for producing the noise, described in his own words as a "remedy" to counteract abusive chants directed at the club's main financial backer Dietmar Hopp.

German daily Bild showed pictures of a speaker placed strategically under the visiting fans' block.

Hoffenheim earlier claimed a fan was responsible, saying in a statement that "allegations of a deliberate action from the host are unfounded."

However, in a later statement the club said it was taking "appropriate legal and disciplinary action against the employee" and that it was cooperating with the investigation from the Heidelberg police.

It's always that one rogue employee who just happens to have a speaker system and death ray sounds on his iPod. Soccer-Fans.de has pictures of the speakers just sitting out in the tunnel underneath the away stand and it really doesn't look like the kind of thing that a club employee would bring to work.

Anyway, even though Hoffenheim were caught in the act, they still beat the defending Bundesliga champs 1-0. So shutting up vocal away fans by making their ears bleed just might become a popular tactic around the world.