A wave of football hooliganism swept through East Germany in 1990. The collapse of the East German regime resulted in a security vacuum. The Volkspolizei was overwhelmed by the amount of disorder and often reluctant to use enough force, due to the political situation. Supporters of FC Berlin, the name of BFC Dynamo since February 1990, rioted in central Jena before an away match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena on 8 April 1990. They smashed shop windows and windscreens of police vehicles with stones, and left a trail of destruction in the city center.