Berlin, Feb 17 (AP) Tennis balls rained on the Bundesliga on Saturday as Bayer Leverkusen consolidated top spot by beating Heidenheim 2-1.

Jeremie Frimpong and Amine Adli scored for Xabi Alonso's team to move eight points clear of Bayern Munich before the defending champion's match at Bochum on Sunday.

Also Read | Manchester City vs Chelsea Premier League 2023-24 Live Streaming Online: How To Watch EPL Match Live Telecast on TV & Football Score Updates in IST?.

But none of Saturday's games escaped fans' wrath with the German soccer league for its controversial plan to sell a stake in the Bundesliga's media rights income to an outside investor.

Supporters threw tennis balls onto the field across four of the afternoon's five games, forcing interruptions and delays. The first half of Stuttgart's game at Darmstadt took 70 minutes to complete instead of the usual 45 plus stoppage time.

Also Read | WPL 2024: UP Warriorz's Shweta Sehrawat Eagerly Aiming for Success, Ready To Capitalize on Dream-Like Run.

In Heidenheim, both sets of fans used whistles to drown out the referee's whistle on the field, while displaying giant banners decrying the soccer league's planned new investor deal.

In the second division earlier, two remote-controlled vehicles carrying smoke bombs caused a brief delay to Hamburger SV's game at Rostock, which was delayed again later when tennis balls were thrown on the field.

The protests follow similar actions during Friday's match and continue the disruptions that also plagued last weekend's games. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)