Lucky escape for PSG after Paris terror plot foiled
MUMBAI: A possible terrorist attack was thwarted on Saturday in Paris when an ‘improvised explosive device’ was discovered near the Parc des Princes stadium, just hours before Paris Saint-Germain took on Bordeaux in the Ligue 1 encounter.
According to a report in The Daily Mail, the device consisted of four gas cylinders soaked in petrol. It was found in the upmarket 16th arrondissement near the Parc des Princes stadium. Five men, including a wanted Islamist extremist, have been arrested. The report stated that this raised suspicion that it was an ‘Islamist terrorist bomb plot’. All four gas cylinders were lined to a mobile phone that could ignite the cylinders so causing an explosion, the report quoted a French official as saying.
The source added that the ‘device was soaked in petrol and operational’. It was found when a local resident from the Rue Chanez called police early in the morning at 4:30 AM on Saturday.
The source informed, “Five suspects were arrested at the scene, including a known radical with links to Islamist movements.”
BARCELONA WAIT
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed the club would have to discuss the possibility of leaving LaLiga if Catalonia gained independence from Spain.
“This situation does not exist so far,” he said.
“But with regards to things that can happen in the future, it is something that the board of directors would discuss. It would be something to analyse calmly.
“If we discuss the subject intensely then obviously we will find the best solution. But if this [independence] happens, the board of directors will see.”
PIQUE COMMITTED
MADRID :Gerard Pique is committed to Spain and should not be doubted, international teammate Jonathan Viera said.
Pique was jeered by fans during a training session, with the Barcelona defender criticised for his support of the Catalan independence referendum.
“Everybody has their thoughts and freedom of opinion. If he thinks that way, we just have to respect it,” the Las Palmas attacker said.
“If he’s here with us it’s because he is committed to the national team.
“He’s been coming for years and doing things right so we shouldn’t cast doubt on him.”
KOMPANY OUT
BRUSSELS: Defender Vincent Kompany has been ruled out of Belgium’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers following talks with his club Manchester City, the national team’s manager Roberto Martinez has said.
“It’s not a disagreement. We’ve got protocols and a way of working,” Martinez said.
“We’re going to call up the players, the squad was announced on Friday and then we’ve got another two days to have a clear assessment of where the players are.”
WALES LOSE BALE
LONDON: Gareth Bale has been ruled out of Wales’s final two crucial World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Ireland. Bale’s fitness has been a source of concern for the national side since he suffered a calf muscle strain against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last week. Wales are currently second in Group D, four points behind leaders Serbia and one point above Ireland.
IBRA SHOULD WAIT
MANCHESTER: Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been warned not to rush his Manchester United return by surgeon Freddie Fu Ho-keung, who operated on his knee .
Ibrahimovic has not played since suffering a knee ligament injury in United’s Europa League quarter-final second leg match against Anderlecht at Old Trafford.
“He (Zlatan) is very strong but soccer is still a combative sport. As a doctor, of course I want to see him return as slow as possible, only when he is fully fit for the game,” Fu said.
“There have been many cases of a player returning prematurely with bad consequences,” he added.