Security arrangements for the quarter-final matches of the Champions League, this Wednesday, in Paris and Madrid, were reinforced following threats made by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
“There is no concrete threat (regarding the match between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona), but we maintain prudence and responsibility at all times”, said French government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot this Wednesday, a few hours before about the game.
The day before, the clashes played in Madrid, between Real Madrid and Manchester City, and in London, between Arsenal and Bayern Munich, which had been threatened, did not occur.
Published a few days ago on the internet, the IS’s threatening messages initially did not attract attention, until on Tuesday the authorities in Spain and France announced reinforcements of security measures, in a context of very high risk in Europe, following the latest attack. occurred in a Moscow theater on March 22, in which 144 people died.
Last Tuesday, just over 100 days before the start of the Paris Olympic Games (July 26 to August 11), French Interior Minister Gérard Darmanin announced that he had “considerably strengthened” security for the game in Parque dos Príncipes after jihadist threats.
The government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín Aguirre, announced, in turn, “an extraordinary security development”. Spanish authorities confirmed this Wednesday that more than 2,000 police officers will be deployed for the game between Atlético de Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, a number much higher than the 1,300 initially planned and similar to that on Tuesday night, for which they had previously been deployed. 1,900 agents were mobilized.
London’s Metropolitan Police also assured that it has “a solid security plan” in place around the Emirates Stadium, which hosted Tuesday’s game and where no incidents were reported.
On the menu today 🍽️#UCL pic.twitter.com/yaQjQywt8G
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 10, 2024
“Kill everyone”
Although the threat is permanent, authorities in France, Spain and England have not revealed specific attack plans for these games, despite IS having made threats to the football stadiums where the games are played.
In one of the messages, an IS fighter wearing a mask and carrying a rifle poses in front of images of the four stadiums that will host the games, accompanied by the message: “Kill everyone.”
This call was associated with Al-Azaim, an organ of the Islamic State in Khorasan (EI-K), a branch of the jihadist group in Afghanistan, which claimed an attack in Kerman (Iran) in January and is also suspected of being behind the last one in Moscow, a French expert in online communication by jihadist groups told AFP.
According to her, the messages are a way of inciting mobilization, and subsequently, “encouragement of the IS sphere after the shock of Moscow’s attack.”
“Safety is important (…), but we must focus on what we can do, play football”, said PSG midfielder Danilo Pereira before the game against Barcelona, this Wednesday, which promises to be a great match after two great games on Tuesday (3-3 in Madrid and 2-2 in London).
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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