Germany defender Jerome Boateng has told his family not to attend any matches at this summer’s European Championships due to the threat of a terror attack.
The safety of the players and fans at Euro 2016 has been a huge concern for security officials since the terrorist attacks in Paris last November, which killed 130 people.
SBU, a Ukrainian security company, said on Monday that they had detained a person who was in possession of a large amount of TNT and weapons with the intention of attacking the tournament.
Although there are hundreds of thousands of police and security personnel across France for the Championships, the country still holds a high terror alert.
Germany played in Paris against France on the night of the terror attacks in November and Boateng, who played in that match, has spoken of his worries about attending the competition.
Speaking to Sport Blid, the Bayern Munich centre-back said: “My family and children will not be visiting the stadiums. The risk is simply too big for me.
“Of course, on the one hand it is sad that you have to think about matters like this. On the other hand, so many things have happened recently that make you think about things.
“I only want to think about football during the tournament and I feel better when I know my family will not be inside the stadium.
“But in the end, that is a decision everybody should make for themselves.”
Boateng played in 19 Bundesliga matches this past season, missing a significant portion of the campaign with injury.
Germany head into Euro 2016 as one of the favourites and will play Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland in the group stages of the competition.
COMMENTS