Several German top-flight clubs "are beefing up security ahead of Bundesliga matches later this week following the deadly attacks in Paris and a bomb scare" that forced the cancellation of an int'l friendly between Germany and Netherlands on Tuesday, according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. Borussia Mönchengladbach CEO Stephan Schippers said, "We want to be clear that there are at the moment no specific indications that there is any danger for the game against Hanover 96 on Saturday. However because of the events of the past days and the current situation we have decided to increase security."
Fans must be prepared "to wait longer than normal to enter the stadium as checks around the arena will be beefed up, with gates opening earlier to allow more time for the security operation to be completed ahead of kickoff."
Gladbach is "one of several clubs in the Bundesliga, including Cologne and Hamburg SV among others, who are taking a fresh look at their own security arrangements." The German Football League (DFL), responsible for the running of the Bundesliga which has the highest average attendance of any league in the world with 42,000 spectators per game, said that "local security personnel would decide on the measures at each stadium." DFL President Reinhard Rauball:
"We have full trust in the security agencies. On the one hand we do not want to yield to terror but on the other hand the protection of human lives has to be top priority" (REUTERS, 11/18). HANDELSBLATT reported that despite the "dangerous situation," club representatives unanimously agreed to go ahead with the upcoming matchweek. Borussia Dortmund Chair Hans-Joachim Watzke: "There is no alternative. We have to show courage as a society and can't surrender. Otherwise those who shouldn't be celebrating now will celebrate." Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm said, "I don't take the field and be afraid that something happens. I have trust in politics and the authorities, who decide if an event takes place or not, given their possibilities of determining the danger" (HANDELSBLATT, 11/18).
