A suicide bomber "was turned away by a security guard as he tried to get into the Stade de France before blowing himself up after being challenged at the gate," according to Darren Boyle of the London DAILY MAIL. The terrorist was one of three different cells who launched coordinated attacks across Paris on Friday "which claimed the lives of at least 129 people." A security guard on duty at the 80,000-seat stadium "challenged one terrorist who tried to access the stadium with a match ticket 15 minutes into the game between France and Germany." The terrorist "walked away from the guard after he was frisked and detonated his vest moments later." Investigators admitted that "all of the terrorists wore identical explosive vests." The first terrorist "was part of a team of three who it is feared wanted to access the stadium before detonating their explosive vests causing mass casualties" (DAILY MAIL, 11/14). In N.Y., Rob Hughes wrote there "is a sound, and also sad, reason why attacks that wrought carnage in Paris on Friday night did not get past the gates of Stade de France in the northern suburb of St.-Denis." It "is the same reason why Germany’s national team chose to stay inside the stadium after playing France, rather than risk being driven through the heart of Paris to their hotel." In a word, "it is security." Football in fact, all sports -- "have been forced down the years to adopt safety measures designed to prevent disasters like the stampedes at Heysel Stadium," or the terrorist attack against the Israeli team at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Two suicide attackers "apparently tried to enter the stadium." They "never made it past the guards." Football "cannot be complacent." Sports "can seem near the point of insignificance after this weekend -- or it can be regarded as being essential to defying those who are bent on destroying the harmonious interactions of people around the world" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/15).
STICKING TOGETHER: In London, David Hills wrote Germany’s acting FA President Reinhard Rauball praised France’s players for an "outstanding gesture of camaraderie" after they refused to leave the Stade de France on Friday night in a show of solidarity with its opponents. Both sets of players "spent much of the night on mattresses in the stadium" after Germany was advised not to return to their team hotel following the terrorist attacks across Paris. Rauball said, "The French said that they were staying as long as Germany had to stay." Germany GM Oliver Bierhoff said, "The players were very afraid. We didn’t want to take any risks and we didn’t know either whether all routes would have been secure, so we stayed" (GUARDIAN, 11/14). In N.Y., Sam Borden wrote at halftime of an exhibition football match between France and Germany, the players on both teams "went to their locker rooms to rest while the coaches, who normally would have been reviewing their strategies, instead received shocking news." Everyone "had heard the two explosions outside the stadium during the first half of the game, and Didier Deschamps, who leads the French team, and Joachim Löw, Germany’s manager, were told by French officials that there was a developing crisis, with violence reported near the stadium as well as around the city." French President François Hollande, who had been at the match, "had already been rushed from the stadium, they were told, but the second half would proceed." The coaches "then had a choice to make: Should they inform the players of the situation or not?" Both coaches "kept the information to themselves." Cyril Olivès-Berthet, who was covering the match for French sports newspaper L’Équipe, said, "It was so weird. The players were running and doing their game, and the fans were chanting their normal chants. ... When France scored the second goal late in the game, they all waved their flags, and the players celebrated like they always do." As soon as the match ended, however -- around 10:50pm -- the gravity of the events "quickly became clear" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/14). In London, Bill Edgar wrote there "was confusion after the final whistle amid the sound of wailing sirens that could be heard outside." Large numbers of fans "walked from the stands on to the pitch as security began to be tightened around the stadium and exit points were limited, although there was no sign of panic among them." The stadium announcer told fans which exits to use, "but more and more walked on to the grass, reluctant to go outside as news poured in of a shocking night of violence." More than 30 minutes after the game, "there were about 2,000 fans on the field as the stadium announcer reassured them that it was safe to leave and use public transport as usual, and directed them to exit gates" (LONDON TIMES, 11/14).
