Euro 2016 Organizing Committee President Jacques Lambert offered a "guarantee" that security at next year's tournament in France "will come above everything" in the wake of Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris that killed nearly 130 people and wounded hundreds more, according to Jerome Pugmire of the AP. Lambert: "I've said it several times before: security is the biggest thing at stake for Euro 2016." Pugmire noted there is "speculation" that the tournament could "be canceled for safety reasons." While "acknowledging that 'anything is possible,' Lambert was adamant that this should not happen." He said, "Anything is possible, anything is conceivable. But it would be to admit that for those who attacked us, it was worth it" (AP, 11/15). Euro 2016 organizers face "renewed concerns about how to protect fans attending 51 matches in 10 stadiums" around France next year. Both the tournament's opening game on June 10 and the final a month later will be held at the Stade de France, where Friday night's "deadly bloodshed started when two explosions went off outside" during a Germany-France match. French Football Federation President Noel Le Graet: "There was already a concern for the Euros, now it's obviously a lot higher." Pugmire wrote with 24 teams involved across 10 venues, the risks "are enormous and the fans heavily exposed to danger, inside and outside stadiums." The French government "has ultimate responsibility for overseeing security for Euro 2016, but an agreement was signed in September between the FFF and the Interior Ministry to split up duties" (AP, 11/14). Meanwhile, the AP reported tomorrow's France-England soccer match in London "will go ahead as planned" despite "major concerns over safety" (AP, 11/14).
NO HARM TO PARIS OLYMPIC BID: The AP's Stephen Wilson noted Friday's attacks "came at a time when the French capital is bidding to host" the '24 Games. However, IOC President Thomas Bach said that the attacks "should not harm the Paris bid." Bach: "We have to take into consideration we are talking about Olympic Games nine years from now. Terrorism is international. Terrorism is not restricted to Paris or France. It's an international challenge. Terrorism is not restricted to sports events. We could sadly see in Paris it affects any kind of gathering" (AP, 11/15). USA TODAY's Martin Rogers wrote the "longevity and scale" of Euro 2016 "makes protecting an Olympic Games, isolated to a single city in roughly half the time period, seem comparatively simple" (USATODAY.com, 11/14).
ACCESS DENIED: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Robinson & Landauro cited a stadium security guard as saying that at least one of the attackers outside Stade de France on Friday "had a ticket to the game and attempted to enter the 80,000-person venue." The guard said that the attacker was "discovered wearing an explosives vest when he was frisked at the entrance to the stadium." He added that the attacker while attempting to back away from security "detonated the vest, which was loaded with explosives and bolts." Police said that a second person "also blew himself up outside the stadium" around three minutes later. They added that a third suicide attacker "detonated explosives at a nearby McDonald’s," and one civilian "died in the attacks." The Germany-France match "continued for the regulation 90 minutes" (WSJ.com, 11/14). In London, Darren Boyle reported a security guard on duty Friday "challenged one terrorist who tried to access the stadium with a match ticket 15 minutes into the game," which was attended by France President Francois Hollande (London DAILY MAIL, 11/14). In N.Y., Sam Borden noted everyone inside the stadium "had heard the two explosions outside the stadium during the first half of the game," but officials decided the second half "would proceed." The coaches "had a choice to make: Should they inform the players of the situation or not?" Both coaches "kept the information to themselves." The coaches’ decisions, "along with typically spotty cellphone reception during major events at the cavernous Stade de France just north of Paris, made for a surreal atmosphere: The players played and most of the fans cheered as usual, unaware of what was going on around them." As soon as the match ended, however -- around 10:50pm local time -- the "gravity of the events quickly became clear." Fans at the match "were initially directed to just two exits from the stadium, creating a bottleneck." Typical postgame protocols for the teams "were canceled." There were "no news conferences or interviews, and the players changed quietly into street clothes and then waited for further instructions" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/15).
ADDED SECURITY LIKELY FOR SUPER BOWL: In S.F., Al Saracevic wrote three major events -- Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium, the '16 Rio Games and the '22 World Cup in Qatar -- "come to mind immediately, raising questions and concerns about security and process." Saracevic: "Let these national and global events provide a platform for solidarity and hope. Let them showcase the resolve of civilized humanity. If we can do that, half the battle is won" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 11/15). In San Jose, Mark Purdy wrote Super Bowl 50 and the entire Super Bowl week in the Bay Area "just became a lot more intense to contemplate." The NFL now will face its "biggest security challenge ever in the Bay Area a few months from now" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 11/15). Also in San Jose, Patrick May wrote Super Bowl 50 "wasn't something that anyone could yet see or shield" in the wake of Friday's attacks in Paris. The influx of people to the Bay Area for the game "would create what could well be the largest and most publicized sporting event in the nation's history, as well as a prime target for terrorists." As part of their planning for Super Bowl 50, authorities said that they have "paid great attention to areas other than Levi's Stadium." They said that this sort of planning around the soft targets is "sure to increase in light of what happened in France." Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews said that security for Super Bowl 50 "includes plans to use electronic sensors and other high-tech equipment to monitor buses and light-rail trains bringing fans to and from the game" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 11/15).
PRIME TARGETS: The GLOBE & MAIL's Cathal Kelly writes the takeaway from the "failed assault on the Stade de France is that the big one is coming." The "ritual aspects of sports viewership -- that quasi-religious binding force -- are too deep-rooted to abandon." As long as there is a hometown team to support, its believers "will need to gather together." Kelly: "But I also believe that our dedication to that simple pleasure will soon be sorely tested" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/16). In N.Y., Mike Lupica wrote, "We can only wonder what could have happened if a suicide bomber had made it past security and inside Stade de France instead of blowing himself up outside; if the 'Black Sunday' nightmare out of fiction and the movies had become something real at this soccer match between France and Germany; if one of these terrorists had gotten his wish and blown a big hole in this match being shown live on television, and not just in France" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/15).
