On Thursday afternoon, the German Football Association (DFB) entourage flew from Nuremberg to Düsseldorf, around 450 kilometers away. In Mönchengladbach, which is not far from the Rhine metropolis, the last European Championship test for the national football team coached by Julian Nagelsmann against Greece will take place on Friday evening (8.45 p.m./RTL).
The national coach has one more opportunity to see his team play under competitive conditions. He then has to remove one player from the provisional European Championship squad. Julian Nagelsmann has already decided which player it will be. However, the player and the public will not be informed until this Friday evening.
The starting eleven for the European Championship tournament, which Germany opens next Friday against Scotland in Munich (9 p.m./ZDF), is more or less set – the only position that is still open is up front. Nagelsmann is leaning towards Kai Havertz, the Arsenal professional, but Niclas Füllkrug from BVB also still has a good chance.
Because as well as various processes and the teamwork worked in the test against Ukraine last Monday, the German team once again revealed its weakness in finishing. In the end, no goals were scored from 27 shots. That should and must change. Ideally, in the game against Greece. All players were present at the final training session in Herzogenaurach. But the match against the Greeks, who failed in the European Championship play-offs, is also in focus for another reason – safety.
The Federal Police can now temporarily carry out checks at all German borders because of the European Championships. The checks will also be carried out at the borders with Denmark, France and the Benelux countries, where there were none to date, the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced. In addition, travelers from the Schengen area can also be checked in air traffic and in ports. The checks will be carried out “depending on the situation and flexible,” it said.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) had previously ordered this due to the high security precautions for the tournament. “Our focus ranges from the threat of Islamist terror to hooligans and cyber attacks,” Faeser emphasized in the statement. “The federal police will protect the German borders, airports and rail traffic.” The controls are intended to identify and stop violent offenders at an early stage. Travelers and commuters should be affected as little as possible.
The temporary controls at all German internal Schengen borders ordered because of the European Championship have been registered at EU level until July 19 – a few days after the final on July 14 in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. All travelers are therefore asked to carry valid travel documents with them.
Faeser recently said that the security situation was “tense”. However, there were no concrete indications of planned attacks because of the European Championship. During the tournament, around 580 foreign police officers will be deployed alongside German officials, particularly on patrol at the host cities and on rail traffic.
According to the ministry, this is part of an intensive cooperation with the security authorities of the participating, neighboring and possible transit states. The International Police Cooperation Center (IPCC) in Neuss (North Rhine-Westphalia) is the heart of this national and international cooperation.
Recently, there have also been many security questions in the stadiums. After four people managed to run unhindered onto the pitch at London’s Wembley Stadium in the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid (0:2) last Saturday to take selfies with the players, just two days later, when the DFB selection played against Ukraine in Nuremberg, a number of spectators ran into the stadium again. Most of them headed towards Ukrainian players, wanted to take photos with them or simply hug them.
Unlike in London, where the streakers were sometimes able to run around alone for seconds because hardly any or no stewards intervened, the security guards in Nuremberg took decisive action, sometimes throwing themselves at the uninvited intruders in groups of three.
In both London and Nuremberg, the streakers’ actions were not serious – the players were not physically attacked. Nevertheless, security officials are on the alert with a view to the upcoming European Championship, which begins on June 14 and will feature 51 matches.
As far as security in the stadiums is concerned, Herbert Reul (CDU), the Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, referred to the European association UEFA in the ARD “Morgenmagazin” on Thursday. “UEFA is responsible for what happens in the stadiums. It has to be said that UEFA has twice as many security guards as at normal Bundesliga games,” said Reul, in whose state four of the ten venues are located: Düsseldorf, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund.
On the subject of security in the stadiums and certain precautions, EURO 2024 GmbH responded to a WELT inquiry: “The security of the stadium interior and especially of the pitch is an absolute priority for UEFA and EURO 2024 GmbH, just like the team facilities. To this end, stewardess and security personnel specially trained for the requirements of a tournament will be deployed in the stadiums.
The experience from London shows that we are on the right track with our planning.” For “reasons of confidentiality,” no details were given about specific measures. According to reports, between 800 and 1,300 law enforcement and security personnel are deployed at the European Championships, depending on the game and stadium.
Since mid-January, EURO 2024 GmbH has implemented so-called Venue Safety
On match days, an event manager appointed by the tournament organizers will ensure coordination with the police, emergency services and the stadium operator – in accordance with the Assembly Places Ordinance.
When it comes to access to the stadium, all ticket holders must prepare for two major checks. In the first, outer security ring, the exclusively electronic tickets on the visitors’ mobile phones are visually checked by security staff.
The person and any items they have brought with them will also be searched. Bags should not exceed DIN A4 size. The ticket will be checked at the turnstile at the next inner security ring.
For NRW Minister Reul, there remains a residual risk for the European Championship host country Germany despite good security precautions. Whether the preparations are “perfect and 100 percent” is an open question, he said. The “main question” is how the security authorities can obtain relevant information before something happens.
“This is the greatest uncertainty of all time because we have very limited options for gathering information.” At the beginning of the week, Reul had already pointed out the overall high workload for police forces during the European Championships (June 14 to July 14). “It will not be a walk in the park.”