Euro 2016 organisers confident of safe tournament

Paris, June 9 (IANS) Organisers of the European Championship said that they are confident of hosting a safe tournament with unprecedented security measures along with host cities and French government.

"My message is clear: we have no knowledge of targeted, concrete threats within a stadium or other venues at Euro 2016," said Jacques Lambert, President of the Euro 2016 SAS on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I believe the messages that have come from a number of countries are understandably precautionary. But we are in constant touch with the French security services and they are in contact with their partners in Europe and elsewhere," he added.

Security of the June 10-July 10 football event has been a major issue since last November's terror attacks that killed 130 people in Paris at sites across the capital, including the Stade de France where the opening game and the final will be held.

And with the most recent bombings in Brussels, Euro 2016 has been seen as "potential targets" for terrorist attacks and football fans have been urged to be vigilant during Euro 2016 in France.

Euro 2016 is starting on Friday with the hosts France facing Group A rivals Romania, with a national state of emergency remaining in place until July 26 in order to cover the football tournament period and other significant events like the Tour de France cycling race.

--IANS

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