Officials Positive about World Cup Security, and Fans
June 17, 2006
So far, the only significant trouble came alongside Wednesday's Germany-Poland match in Dortmund, where 430 people were detained briefly.
"It shows that security forces trained just as hard for the World Cup as the German national team did," said Jörg Ziercke, the head of Germany's Federal Criminal Office, was quoted as telling the daily Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung on Saturday, adding he saw no indication of a terrorist threat.
"The police are very watchful and vigorous action is being taken consistently against troublemakers -- as on Wednesday in Dortmund," he added. "I am firmly convinced that the games will remain peaceful."
Alluding to possible activities by Germany's far right, Ziercke said that "we will not meet with tolerance actions of intolerance against the state of law."
A string of attacks on nonwhites in the weeks before the World Cup, particularly in Germany's formerly communist east, raised concerns ahead of the tournament. It unleashed a debate about the existence of "no-go areas" in the east and some groups urged nonwhites to avoid the areas for their own safety.
The debate threatened to mar the image Germany hopes to project during the tournament, that of an open, tolerant and basically fun-loving society.
Praise for England
Another round of praise went to England's fans, who are often the pariahs of international soccer due their reputation for hooliganism.
This time, according to Wolfgang Niersbach, vice-president of the German organizing committee, the behaviour of England's supporters has been one of the hightlights of the four-week tournament.
"By our estimates, there were 60,000 or 70,000 English fans in Nuremberg for the match against Trinidad & Tobago and their exemplary behaviour was being discussed by many people," he told reporters at FIFA's daily news briefing on Friday.
During the Thursday game in Nuremberg, only 26 England fans were detained by police before and after England's 2-0 win.
Kevin Miles, international coordinator for the (English) Football Supporters Federation, told Reuters his group has always maintained that the majority of England fans behave well for the majority of the time.
"I am delighted to hear that excellent behaviour of England fans has been recognized by the authorities," he said.
Niersbach also applauded the conduct of Swedish fans in Berlin for Thursday's match against Paraguay, and the fact that many Germans put on Sweden's yellow shirts in support of the Scandinavians.
"The atmosphere at the stadiums was incredible," he said. "The fans are behaving so well, long may it continue."