Security ‘considerably reinforced’ as Champions League hit by terrorism threat

It is one of the most anticipated sports events in the world but the UEFA Champions League has been hit by a dark threat as the competition’s quarter finals began overnight.

Security was reinforced at matches on Tuesday and Wednesday after a communication outlet supporting the Islamic State group published threats against stadiums.

The outlet showed images of the host stadiums in Paris, Madrid and London and urged terrorists “recreate the glory of the 2015 Paris attacks” which killed 138 people.

European football’s governing body UEFA said all four games would go ahead despite the jihadist threat.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said security would be “considerably reinforced” when Paris Saint-Germain take on Barcelona in the first leg at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

Darmanin said there had been “a clear threat publicly expressed by the Islamic State”.

“The police, whom I spoke to very early this morning, have considerably reinforced the security measures,” the minister told reporters.

PSG coach Luis Enrique said in his pre-match news conference: “I hope it is a thing we can control and that they are just threats and that nothing will happen.”

A French source close to the issue told AFP: “IS has threatened the Champions League quarter-finals, not specifically in France, through one of its communication outlets.”

Two games are taking place this week in Madrid — Real Madrid hosted Manchester City on Tuesday, while Atletico Madrid face Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

Pilar Alegria, speaking for the Spanish government, said more than 2,000 police would be deployed “to guarantee total security”.

“We are going to have an exceptional deployment of security services, in line with the level of alert set out by