In a chilling turn of events, the entire footballing fraternity was sent into chaos as radicalist terrorist organisation, ISIS, issued a threat to major UCL venues on Tuesday. The UCL quarter finals are scheduled to begin on Wednesday and all the matches would be extremely high profile.
The ISIS threat has reduced significantly in recent years, compared to the mid-2010s but they are considered to be more than capable of staging large-scale attacks if they choose to do so.
Al Azaim Foundation, the media outlet of the Islamic State including ISIS and Daesh, posted the threat through an image. The image featured a world map where the venue of the matches were written along with the ‘order’, “Kill them ALL.”
Another affiliate outlet of the organisation, Sarh Al-khilafah had previously announced a similar threat to attack the Allianz Arena on March 30. The Bavarian derby between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund took place under intense security protocol.
Which matches are at Risk of the ISIS Attack?
April 10, Arsenal vs Bayern Munich (Emirates Stadium)
As one of the most anticipated fixtures of the UCL, the London-Munich rivalry has a storied history. While the Bavarian giants have been dominant of two, Mikel Arteta’s men are enjoying great support due to their current form. So Emirates Stadium in north-London will be buzzing for the match.
April 10, Real Madrid vs Manchester City (Santiago Bernabeu)
In another high profile game, defending UCL champions Manchester City will face the undisputed kings of the tournament, Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Pulling off an act of terror in the very heart of Spain will be a daunting task for the terrorist outfit if even if they try to pull it off.
April 11, Paris Saint Germain vs Barcelona (Parc des Princes)
The French capital is also in the ‘hitlist’ during the Parisian’s first leg match against Barcelona. However, French forces will be ready to deal with the threat. Since their bombing of Charlie Hebdo in 2015, ISIS has become one of the greatest villains to the French state and the country will not let any threats budge them.
April 11, Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund (Wanda Metropolitano)
Another stadium located in the Spanish capital that has made its way to the ISIS threat was the Wanda Metropolitano. This means Spanish police will have to be immensely vigilant for the next two nights.
ISIS Recent Activity
Despite multiple operations against them, ISIS remains to be a threat against the free world. Instead of direct war, the cancerous organisation has resorted to guerilla tactics again. Last month, ISIL, a subsidiary, bombed the Crocus City Hall in wartorn Russia.
There have also been reports of another bombing in Afghanistan that was attributed to the outfit. In short, despite a steep drop in action, Islamic state attacks are very common across the world.
X’s Funny Side Up
Despite the threat, X users saw the funny side of things. Instead of feeling threatened, the footballing fraternity came together to mock the terror mongers. While some took the opportunity to boast of how their defenders would be enough against the militants, some users used the opportunity to throw banter at their respective opponents.
Some fans have also decided to not undermine the threat. According to some comments, they will not attend the match under such circumstances.
While there are high chances of this being another dud, none of the officials are ready to take the risk. All of the police forces in the concerned cities have announced that they are ready to intercept any such incident and they will keep the safety of the visitors at the top of the priority list.
UEFA also published their statement following the threat. It read, “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.”
Now the tantalising task of guessing how much of it will actually come true will keep the supporters awake.
