Germany defender Jerome Boateng will not take his family to Euro 2016 due to terror fears

Boateng: The Bayern Munich defender has said his family will not be watching him from the stands
PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images
James Benge9 June 2016

Germany defender Jerome Boateng has said his family will not travel to watch him at Euro 2016 because he is concerned over a possible terror attack at the tournament.

Boateng was on the field at the Stade de France in November when a friendly match between France and Germany was targeted in a series of attacks in Paris that left 130 dead, including three people who lost their lives in explosions near the ground.

German and French players spent the night inside the stadium, with Antoine Griezmann and Lassana Diarra both fearing for the safety of relatives. Days later a Germany friendly against the Netherlands in Hanover was cancelled after police receive “concrete information” of a plan to detonate explosives in the stadium.

Nearly 100,000 members of the French security forces will be deployed during the tournament, which starts on Friday at the Stade de France. Germany return to the stadium next Thursday (June 16) for a Group C fixture against Poland.

“Each person must decide for himself how to deal with it. I have already done so,” Boateng told Bild.

“My family and children will not be coming to the stadium. The risk is simply too big. It's obviously sad to have to deal with such a question. But too many things have happened in the last few days that make one reflect.

“I would like to concentrate fully on football during the Euros, and I would feel much better if my family is not sitting in the stadium.”

German football federation (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel has said he would accept the decision of Boateng or any other player to not bring his family to the tournament but maintained that security was not a concern for the national team.

The DFB say they have spent €800,000 (around £630,000) on security for their squad at the tournament.

“Generally, I can say that as before we're in close contact with the security officials in Germany and have our own good security staff within the DFB. We have trust in the work of the French security officials,” Grindel said.

“We have taken a raft of security measures in consultation with the German and French security forces, for the team and including around this media centre.”

Earlier this week the Foreign Office issued a warning to UK citizens travelling to France for the Euros that the stadiums, fan zones and transport hubs will be “potential targets for terrorist attacks”.

Around half-a-million British football fans are expected to travel to France for the competition, half of whom do not have tickets.

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