German FA praises France players for staying the night with the German team in Stade de France
The German FA has heaped praise on the French players for their exceptional gesture of camaraderie, the Guardian reports. The French team stayed in the Stade de France along with the German players and did not leave as long as their counterparts were in the stadium, presenting a great example of sportsmanship.
Germany’s acting FA president, Reinhard Rauball exalted the France team and said, “The French said that they were staying as long as Germany had to stay”.
The German players released a joint statement which gives the details of how they came to play a friendly match of football, but the terrorist attack gave them an altogether different experience.
The statement reads, “We came to Paris to do what connects us all – to play football, together, against one another and in friendship. To have an enjoyable evening together with our fans, to show sporting ambition, but particularly we came for a fair and peaceful encounter. We all looked forward to playing in the Stade de France, to have a great night of football, which ended up turning into a nightmare.”
“It was a dull bang which changed everything. It produced pictures that will remain in our heads for a long time. We spent the night doing a lot of thought-processing. We asked ourselves why something like this could happen? How is such inhumanity even possible? There were a lot of answers but none that could explain these cowardly attacks. We lost a game of football on Friday evening. But nothing is as irrelevant as that right now.”
Germany’s general manager, Oliver Bierhoff expressed his relief after the Germans reached back home safely. “The players were very afraid,” he said. “We didn’t want to take any risks and we didn’t know either whether all routes would have been secure, so we stayed. Our thoughts are with the victims and their relatives. We are just happy to have landed safely.”
The bomb explosions outside the stadium were clearly heard by the spectators and players and was easily audible during the live telecast of the game as well. French President Francois Hollande was present in the stadium, however, he was evacuated during the match itself.
The spectators were allowed onto the pitch after the match ended given the chaotic atmosphere outside the stadium. Reportedly, one of the suicide bombers had a ticket to the match but was stopped by a security guard. The attacker immediately detonated the bomb along with himself after he was stopped from getting into the Stade de France.
All sporting events which were to be held in Paris this weekend have been postponed, but the French Football Federation (FFF) has confirmed the international friendly with England at Wembley will go ahead as planned on Tuesday.