Matej Mohorič fan club distances itself from Van der Poel bottle incident, helps identify perpetrator: “We want to be very clear: the perpetrator is not a member of our fan club”

As cycling continues to reel from the shocking bottle-throwing incident at Paris-Roubaix, a Belgian fan club linked to Matej Mohorič has released a detailed statement distancing itself from the act and confirming it played a role in helping the perpetrator turn himself in.

Matej Mohorič, who crashed early in the race and did not finish, was not directly involved in the incident, but the fan club that supports him, the MatejMatjes, found itself unexpectedly connected after footage from the race showed the attacker standing near their group.

In a public statement issued shortly after the race, the MatejMatjes clarified how the events unfolded and made it clear that the person responsible was not affiliated with their organisation.

“Yesterday we organised a bus trip to Paris-Roubaix with our fan club. There were 46 people on the bus, including both members and non-members. When the bus trip was announced, it was clearly communicated that everyone could go, member or not, it is financially not feasible to fill a bus with only members."

What followed during the race shocked the cycling world, a spectator launched a water bottle into the face of solo leader Mathieu van der Poel, who was riding at high speed towards a third consecutive victory. While Van der Poel was thankfully unharmed and carried on to win, the incident sparked widespread condemnation and calls for criminal prosecution.

With media attention focused on the group of fans standing near the scene, MatejMatjes responded quickly, analysing photos and footage to clarify the facts and protect the club’s reputation.

“During the cycling race, a terrible incident occurred, in which a person threw a water bottle at Matthieu Van Der Poel. The images show several of our members who are clearly cheering on Van Der Poel. Our members are wearing red t-shirts and/or red-white caps, the perpetrator is clearly not. We want to be very clear: the perpetrator is not a member of our fan club.”

The fan club took action as soon as they returned home. After an internal investigation, they played a key role in encouraging the individual to turn himself in to the authorities.

“After returning home, the board investigated the incident last night and based on the images and a few fragments of testimonies, we were able to solve the puzzle. We informed the perpetrator yesterday evening via via (because we did not have any contact details ourselves) that he had to turn himself in to the police, and that otherwise we would do it today.”

Their efforts appeared to have an immediate impact, with the man responsible making contact during the night to confirm he had surrendered himself to the police and expressed remorse.

“The perpetrator contacted us himself during the night to let us know that he had effectively turned himself in and that he deeply regretted his action. As far as we know, the perpetrator was not recognizable on any images, so we did everything we could to identify the correct perpetrator. We, like everyone else, are disgusted by this action and want to distance ourselves from it in every possible way. We are a fan club FOR a rider, and not against the rider(s).”

In a final message, MatejMatjes underlined their respect for Van der Poel and confirmed the individual will not be welcome at any of their future events.

“The person in question has also been informed that he will never be welcome at future activities or bus rides of the Matej Matjes. Anyone who has ever encountered us knows that we are the first to stand up and applaud any rider who puts in a performance. We have great respect for an absolute champion like Van Der Poel. For the rest, we let the police and the courts do their job and we do not think it is our place to mention names here or to the press."

“We hope that the perpetrator will be punished correctly and that this incident will not stick to our fan club in the future.”