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Germany Tightens Security for World Cup

With FIFA 2006 World Cup just around the corner, authorities in Germany are establishing a closed security area for the duration of the tournament and bring tens of thousands of border soldiers to join border controls in securing the event. `Whoever wants to be disruptive should stay far away,` Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned. Although there is no concrete indication of danger from terrorist attacks, rightwing extremist ambushes or hooligan riots, the authorities cannot rule anything out.

Nevertheless, football fans should be able to experience `a cheerful, open nation,` Schaeuble assured. Head of the World Cup Organizing Committee, Franz Beckenbauer said he had not seen any police officers during the 1966 World Cup in England, `apart from bobbies for controlling traffic`. However, times have changed. For months, there have been repeated waves of alleged dangers.

During a conspiratorial meeting in the Alps, Neo-Nazis had planned some action for the tournament, Italian media reported. The so-called Public Viewing Areas, where matches are broadcast on huge screens, are at the highest risk of attacks. Hooligans, of whom 6,000 the police know are ready to use violence, pose the most direct threat. The Central Sports Intelligence Unit at the Criminal Investigation Office in North Rhine-Westphalia is receiving thousands of tips from authorities in nations competing in the World Cup.