Sport targeted by terrorists. “The war in Israel doesn’t change anything”
Photo: Russell Mcphedran/Getty Images
Planting bombs, attacking buses with football players, and even kidnapping players. The history of sports is marked by acts of terrorism. After the recent murder of two Swedish fans in Belgium and the introduction of the highest level of terrorist threat in France, there is more and more talk about the security of the Games in Paris. And many other sporting events that terrorists may try to exploit.
The yellow and blue national colors in which Swedish fans marched to the Heysel Stadium in Brussels cost them their lives. It was thanks to them that the attacker managed to identify the nationality of his victims. The information provided by the services shows that he was looking for Swedes to take revenge for the fact that the Swedish authorities did not allow him to settle in this country.
When during the break of the match against Belgium Swedish players learned about the death of two compatriots and refused to go out for the second half of the match. The meeting was interrupted, and after a few days UEFA decided that it would not be completed. The score of the first half was 1-1 and was deemed final.
The match itself was not the killer’s target, but since the victims were fans, a discussion arose about the safety of sporting events that gather crowds of fans. Especially since next year we will have two great events in Europe: the Olympic Games in Paris and the European Football Championships Germany.
– Terrorism is a form of communication, and almost every attack is intended to attract attention to the perpetrators. Large sporting events give terrorist organizations the opportunity to gain enormous international publicity for their agenda, writes Dr. Anthony Richards, a terrorism specialist from the University of London.
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