German federation plays down Euro fears
Print Edition
SECURITY at the European Championship is not a worry for German soccer federation (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel, even though defender Jerome Boateng reportedly said he would feel safer if his family didn’t attend games.
The 27-year-old Boateng, a key player for the World Cup champion at Euro 2016 in France, was quoted as telling Sportbild magazine yesterday that his family and children wouldn’t come to the stadium because “the risk is too great for me”.
“On one hand of course it’s sad that you have to deal with such issues. On the other hand many things have happened that make you thoughtful,” said Boateng, referring to recent attacks in Paris and Brussels. “I for one just want to concentrate on the football at the European Championship and I feel better if my family is not sitting in the stadium.”
Speaking at the German team’s tournament base in Evian-les-Bains, Grindel said he respected Boateng’s decision but did not want to comment on it.
“That’s a question that each and every person must decide for themselves and their family,” Grindel said.
“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,” said Grindel, who said the DFB was spending 800,000 euros (US$900,000) on security at the tournament.
A state of emergency is still in force in France after extremist attacks killed 130 people in Paris in November.
“Up to this morning German security officials have no concrete evidence of a threat against Euro 2016,” Grindel said. “Our own officials are in the closest cooperation with their French counterparts and I am sure that we’ll be informed if the situation should change.”
Meanwhile, Spain’s first challenge at Euro 2016 will be to forget a disappointing home loss in its final warm-up match.
The two-time defending champion is traveling to France filled with doubts after struggling against 137th-ranked Georgia, a team that wasn’t even close to qualifying for Euro 2016.
Tuesday’s 0-1 loss in Getafe left players and coach Vicente Del Bosque searching for answers and looking to put the setback behind them as quickly as possible.
“The game was a good opportunity to boost our confidence and create a good environment around our team,” Del Bosque said after Spain’s only preparation match in front of its supporters before heading to France. “But it was the opposite, it was a disappointment.”
Spain was in control from the start, but a defensive mistake led to Georgia’s winning goal just before halftime. The host pressured the rest of the game but couldn’t capitalize on its chances, upsetting the fans at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez in the outskirts of Madrid.
“It’s normal to concede a goal, but it was very disappointing that we were not able to score ourselves,” said Del Bosque, who opted to leave veteran strikers Diego Costa and Fernando Torres out of the Euro 2016 squad.
The defeat came less than a week before “La Roja” starts defending its European title against the Czech Republic on Monday in Toulouse. “What happened doesn’t erase what was done up until now,” he said. “We’ve done some good things. I don’t want to be pessimistic.”
After the Group D opener against the Czech Republic, Spain will face Turkey on June 17 in Nice and Croatia on June 21 in Bordeaux.
Spain won the last two Euros and will be trying to regain its soccer supremacy after a disappointing elimination early in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
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