Football stars on Easter bomb alert
Premier League teams set to take precautions ahead of busy holiday schedule
PREMIER League clubs will be given fresh advice on how to keep players safe in the wake of the bus bomb attack in Dortmund, insiders have said.
It could include changing the route teams usually take to get to games.
Security expert Will Geddes said: “This was an attack on football carried out in the heart of Europe... and will send alarm bells ringing throughout the English game and around the world.
“At first, I was sceptical about it being Isis. I thought they would be more likely to strike inside or outside a stadium – like we saw in Paris. An attack on a multinational German club team on their way to a game comes as a real surprise, and shows nowhere is completely safe for players, fans or staff.” International Corporate Protection agency chief Geddes said clubs are working with experts to boost security at stadiums. He added: “You can never say anywhere is 100 per cent safe, but I can assure fans they are doing all they can to get as close to that as possible.” Clubs will be on the highest ever alert during the Easter weekend
after the bus carrying Borussia Dortmund’s players to a Champions League match was hit by three bombs on Tuesday night.
A Premier League source said: “Security is the responsibility of each club and obviously it is difficult to give overall guidance on 20 different journeys. But the clubs will be speaking to each other and police forces about security on bus journeys to and from grounds.
“It will be higher than ever for the first games after the attack.”
The moves come as Manchester United prepare to take on Anderlecht tonight in Brussels where Isis bombers killed 32 people and left more than 300 injured in attacks at the airport and a metro station last year.
On Tuesday, Dortmund defender Marc Bartra’s wrist was broken when the bombs hidden in a hedge blew out the back window of the bus.
The Spaniard posted a photo online with his right arm in a sling and his left thumb up, telling fans: “As you can see, I am doing much better.”
The explosives contained metal strips with a range of about 100 metres.
Police arrested a suspect with “Islamist links” yesterday. Officers said the bombing was being treated as a “targeted terror attack”.
Lead prosecutor Frauke Koehler said: “Two suspects from the Islamist spectrum are the focus of our investigation. Their flats were searched. One of the two has been detained.”
Koehler added three letters containing the same text found near the site of the blasts indicated the attackers had links to Isis.
Chancellor Angela Merkel called the bombing a “revolting act”.
There was a huge security operation – with the military and armed police in and around the Westfalen stadium – as Dortmund’s Champions League quarter final game against Monaco finally went ahead after it had to be cancelled on Tuesday.
The team bus had a police escort and Dortmund fans waved scarves with with “You’ll never walk alone” on them.
Former Met police officer Chris Cully, of security company Dilitas, warned terrorists will seek to emulate the bus bombing, saying: “Copycat attacks will always be the big worry.
“Terrorists see it and think, ‘I wish we had thought of that’. This is high profile. The more publicity, the more terror they bring.”
Last night, the Premier League said: “Our clubs take safety and security very seriously and have a range of provisions in place.”
Meanwhile, police made eight arrests in Madrid after Leicester City fans chanted “Spanish b ****** s, Gibraltar’s ours” yesterday.