The German football squad arrived in Frankfurt Saturday after spending the night at the Stade de France following the series of terror attacks in Paris that left nearly 130 people dead.
The team and delegation did not return to their hotel in Paris after Friday evening's friendly international against France and were flown out of Charles de Gaulle airport shortly after 9 am (0800 GMT) Saturday.
Police vehicles and two officers armed with automatic weapons were posted next to specially chartered Lufthansa plane which waited on an outlying tarmac far from the main terminal.
The German delegation had originally intended to leave on Sunday for Hanover for a friendly international Tuesday against the Netherlands.
Three explosions were heard during Friday's game at the stadium in Saint-Denis just north of Paris, but spectators and players were initially unaware of events taking place outside the ground and elsewhere in Paris.
Reports said three or four people were killed in apparent suicide bombings near the stadium. French President Francois Hollande was in the stadium but left during the game before declaring a state of emergency.
Earlier Friday the German team was evacuated from its hotel in Paris following a bomb threat.
It was not immediately clear whether world champions Germany would go ahead with Tuesday's match against the Netherlands.
Interim German football federation (DFB) president Reinhard Rauball said he would prefer the game to go ahead.
"No decision has been taken but I would favour the match being played," he told dpa. "We shouldn't allow those who have done this to triumph."
France next play England at Wembley in London on Tuesday. French football media officer Philippe Tournon told Britain's Press Association that "no decision has been made" on whether the game will continue.
French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet told reporters after the game the players were only informed about the attacks after the final whistle.
"At half-time we said nothing because we didn't want the public to be disturbed or to create panic in the crowd. At the end of the match I informed the players like I'm informing you," he said.
"The French Football Federation shares the pain of the bereaving families and their loved ones."
The Stade de France stadium will host next year's Euro 2016 final and other matches including the tournament's showpiece opening game.
German coach Joachim Loew and team manager Oliver Bierhoff are due back in Paris next month for the Euro 2016 draw on December 12.
European football organizing body UEFA said it was "deeply shocked" by the attacks.
0 comments:
Post a Comment