FIFA Head of Security: World Cup stadium delays threaten fans’ security

Ralf Mutschke says the inability to hold test events means that staff will have little time to prepare for all security issues. FIFA Head of Security has said that efforts to keep fans safe at the World Cup have been compromised by the late delivery of stadiums for this year’s tournament. “We witnessed this at the Confederations […]
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sambafoot_admin
2014-03-04 17:54:00

Ralf Mutschke says the inability to hold test events means that staff will have little time to prepare for all security issues.

FIFA Head of Security has said that efforts to keep fans safe at the World Cup have been compromised by the late delivery of stadiums for this year’s tournament.

“We witnessed this at the Confederations Cup, and the experience we had there was that, due to the late delivery of the stadiums, there was a very short time to prepare all the security issues. Normally, we do test matches, we are training stewards in the stadiums, so when everything is not possible then it has an impact on security,” Ralf Mutschke told the British newspaper The Telegraph.

“For sure, late delivery of stadiums is making our lives more difficult. Normally, if they stay to the FIFA deadline, everything would be fine.”

He also stated that he is braced for the prospect that protesters might infiltrate matches in Brazil after anarchist groups threatened to unleash mayhem in Brazil this summer.

“This is something we are facing, violence in the stands, so we have to be prepared for this as well,” he said, insisting FIFA’s ticketing policy made mass confrontations inside stadiums almost impossible.

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