The Islamic State (IS) has issued a terrorist threat to the stadium where the European Champions League (UCL) match will be played.
The UCL quarterfinals of the War of the Stars will kick off at 4 a.m. ET on Tuesday. Bayern Munich and Arsenal, Real Madrid and Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid and Dortmund will battle for a spot in the last four.
There has been a major scare ahead of Europe’s premier competition. Multiple outlets, including the U.K.’s Daily Mail, reported on Monday that the Al Azhaim Foundation, a media channel dedicated to spreading the terrorist group’s message, shared a post threatening terrorist attacks on all four UCL quarterfinal matches this week. This included London’s Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal play Bayern tonight, and the Santiago Bernabeu, where Man City play Real,” the Mail reported.
The poster, shared via the Al Azhaim Foundation, shows that not only the Emirates Stadium and Santiago Bernabeu, but also the Parc des Princes, where the first leg of the quarterfinals between PSG and Barcelona will take place, and the Metropolitano Arena, where Atletico and Dortmund will meet, were targeted.
All four stadiums that will host the first leg of the UCL quarterfinals are very large. The Santiago Bernabeu seats over 80,000 people, the Metropolitano Arena over 70,000. The Emirates Stadium will hold more than 60,000 fans and the Parc des Princes will hold more than 48,000. If a terrorist attack were to occur in these venues, there’s no telling how many casualties would occur.
As a result, each country hosting the games is on high alert to protect spectators from terrorism. The Daily Mail reports that “Madrid police have activated all alert and response systems in response to the presumed terrorist threat. French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said security at the Parc des Princes would be ‘considerably enhanced’. UEFA said it was aware of the threat but that the match would go ahead as planned with appropriate security measures in place.
Norman Brennan, a former British police officer, said: “The counter-terrorism team monitors everything to do with terrorism, including threats of attacks. They are very ahead of this kind of thing. They will have increased security with cameras and cars while they 카지노 monitor people.”
There’s no way to know how a terrorist attack would be carried out, so the safety of the athletes is also a concern. The entrances and exits of the team buses are always crowded and could be a target for terrorists.
It’s not out of the question that Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in will be playing for their respective clubs in the UCL quarterfinals. Both players have already been included in the match roster and are ready to play. Kim is expected to come off the bench and Lee is expected to start. With the threat of an IS attack on the horizon, clubs will have to protect their players with tight security.
European soccer has been plagued by terrorism every year. Most recently, two civilians were killed during a Euro 2024 qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden last October when a man believed to be of Islamic origin opened fire near the stadium. The game was canceled after halftime, and spectators were forced to wait in fear inside the stadium until the attacker was caught.