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FIFA backs German stadiums, plays down terrorist risk
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-02-15 08:33 BERLIN, Feb 14 (Reuters) - A
leading world soccer official gave German stadiums a strong vote of confidence
on Tuesday and played down fears that terrorists would attempt to target this
summer's World Cup.
Walter Gagg, director of stadium security for
soccer's world governing body FIFA, said he was "more than satisfied" with the
12 stadiums that will host the month-long 32-nation tournament, despite a
critical report last month from a consumer watchdog.
"We are happy, we have good stadiums here in Germany, they have full security
infrastructure," he told a conference in Berlin.
He played down the possibility of a terrorist attack on the tournament,
saying soccer -- unlike the Olympic Games -- had never fallen victim to such a
disaster before.
"Football has never, really never, been sought out by terrorist attacks at
this level. We are convinced we won't have any terrorist actions against the
soccer World Cup," he said.
Willy Koesling, a German security official responsible for World Cup
preparations, said: "Thank God, we have no concrete indications of a particular
concrete threat in the area of terrorism, but we can't rule it out. We hope it
stays that way."
The comments came as a special World Cup committee of security officials from
the German government and 16 federal states held a meeting to update its
planning for the tournament, which kicks off on June 9.
Koesling said guaranteeing security at dozens of public viewing areas across
Germany, where huge crowds are expected to gather to watch live matches on giant
screens, would be one of the items on the agenda.
Some German police have expressed concern at the difficulties of keeping
control at such gatherings, which could attract criminals or hooligan gangs.
FIFA's Gagg ventured into a sensitive political area for the host country
when he said the presence of troops, as well as police, could play a positive
role in guaranteeing security during the tournament.
"Absolutely, we believe that if a country is co
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