MUNICH, Germany - World Cup organizers do not expect a recent spate of racist
attacks in eastern Germany to translate into violence inside tournament venues.
One day last week, there were three instances when people of foreign descent
were attacked by groups of thugs, some of them singing the German national
anthem and shouting fascist slogans.
"We are looking at this very carefully because of the latest unfortunate
events. But we have no information that this needs to be expected in the
stadiums," German organizing committee vice president Horst Schmidt said
Saturday.
"We are aware of the highly sensitive nature of this issue ... (but) we have
no clear indication of any of this."
Schmidt said he was aware various groups were planning to demonstrate during
the World Cup, which starts Friday, and that "we need to see what will be
allowed and what will not."
The 1998 World Cup in France and the 2000 European Championship in Belgium
and the Netherlands were marred by violence sparked by far right extremists.
German authorities are taking extra precautions, with federal and provincial
police backed by 7,000 soldiers and reinforced by 500 officers from 13
countries.
No potential flash points have been identified in the first round, which
involves 32 teams divided into eight groups.
"That is really good news — 48 matches and we have none classified as high
risk — the future is positive," Schmidt said.
FIFA spokesman Markus Siegler said the threat of violence or terrorism was
"of course a dynamic thing" and German security organizers were well equipped to
adjust if the situation changed.
Police have pledged "zero tolerance for disturbances," Juergen Bischoff, who
is leading the federal police force's World Cup preparations, has said.
Federal police are responsible for security at the borders, railways and
airports. The force also will have a mobile reserve unit for the tournament,
ready to travel anywhere in the country on short notice.
The ticket system requires people attending matches to provide personal
information, which was designed to weed out known troublemakers from Germany and
abroad.
FIFA also has warned all member federations of new anti-racism regulations
which carry harsh penalties if officials or spectators behaving in a
discriminatory manner can be attributed to a certain team.
