England, France and Spain have stepped up security ahead of the Champions League quarter-finals being held in London, Madrid and Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, top officials said, citing threats from the Islamic State.
British police said they were aware of reports of such threats and had a robust policing plan in place ahead of Arsenal’s match against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night at the Emirates Stadium in London.
“Regarding the game that will take place in the Paris region, the head of police has considerably strengthened security,” French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters at a press event on Olympic Games security.
Paris-St-Germain are due to play Barcelona in Paris on Wednesday night.
“We have seen, among other things, a communication from the Islamic State that particularly targets stadiums. It is not new,” he added.
Islamic State was alleged to have threatened four venues for this week’s Champions League matches, including the Parc des Princes in Paris and two matches in Madrid hosted by Real Madrid on Tuesday and Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, who face Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund respectively.
Ade Adelekan, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of police in London, said in a statement: “We’re aware of online and media reports in relation to calls to target matches across Europe and here in London.”
“However, I want to reassure the public that we have a robust policing plan in place for tonight’s match and we continue to work closely alongside the club’s security team to ensure that the match passes peacefully.”
Spanish police forces will deploy more than 2,000 officers to boost security in the capital for the two games there, government spokesperson Pilar Alegria told reporters on Tuesday.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the recent attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed at least 143 people, though Russian President Vladimir Putin has attempted to blame it on Ukraine.