The Islamist terror group ISIS has issued a post threatening the lives of participants at the Quarter Finals of the UEFA Champions League, saying ‘Kill Them All’ alongside a list of major football venues, reports said on Tuesday.
The terrorist group known as Islamic State, or ISIS, has issued a call for attacks on major UEFA Champions League games ahead of the competition’s quarter-finals.
In a post issued via its de facto media outlet, the Al-Azaim Foundation, the group listed London’s Emirates Stadium, Paris’ Parc de Prince, and the Santiago Bernabéu and Metropolitano arenas in Madrid as targets. The image bears the words “Kill Them All”, along with a black-clad man holding a firearm.
While sports games and venues have previously been targeted by ISIS, its supporters and other extremist organisations, the group is not known for telegraphing its attacks in advance, preferring instead to storm large public venues and events by surprise.
Meanwhile UEFA, in a counter statement on Tuesday, said they were “aware” of threats allegedly being made in the build-up to the four fixtures regarding potential terrorist action.
“UEFA is aware of alleged terrorist threats made towards this week’s UEFA Champions League matches and is closely liaising with the authorities at the respective venues. All matches are planned to go ahead as scheduled with appropriate security arrangements in place.”
Spanish media have widely reported Madrid authorities escalating their security arrangements to include “response systems”, involving 2,000 police agents and civil guards, following a meeting in the city with relevant decision-makers.