Police on High Alert as Islamic State Threatens to Attack Champions League Football Matches

Police across Europe are on high alert after Islamic State-linked media published calls to attack high-profile football quarter-final matches taking place this week and expected to be attended by tens of thousands of fans.

Messages including “destroy their meetings” and “kill them all” have been broadcast with images of European football stadiums due to host Champions League quarter-final matches this week. Four matches this week, at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, the Cívitas Metropolitano in Madrid, the Emirates Stadium in London, and the Parc des Princes Paris, are to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings this week.

British newspaper The Daily Mail reports the Islamic State-linked Al Azaim Foundation called for killings at the matches. The Times, citing a different communication, noted a call for “my brother from Al Andalus, destroy their meetings”, a reference to the name given to Spain — Al Andalus — used during the period of Islamic occupation of the Iberian Peninsula before the Reconquista in the 15th century.

Spanish government spokesman Francisco Martin said there is going to be an “extraordinary level” of security at the matches. Some 3,500 officers are to be deployed including sniper units. Fans will be searched before entering the stadium. Some 85,000 fans are expected in Madrid tonight, a preview states.

London’s Metropolitan Police also stated their readiness, per reports, with the force’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan saying he wanted to reassure the public that a “robust policing plan in place for tonight’s match”. He asked the public to remain vigilant and to report suspicious goings-on to police.

Per the BBC, the French government vowed a “considerably reinforced” security presence for the match to be played in Paris. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said: “I will remind you that only 10 days ago, IS shared a picture of the Munich stadium and said action should be taken against sports venues that host football games – although all sports can be targeted. Given how important the Champions League is for football, we are of course talking to our partners”.

Such attacks are not without precedent. On the night of the Bataclan attacks in 2015, there was also an attack on the Stadium of France in Paris where the French President was watching the France versus Germany match along with 80,000 other people. A suicide bomber attempted to get into the stadium but his explosive belt was detected by security, leading the attacker to detonate it prematurely, killing one person.