SOCA SCARE

THREE busloads of enthusiastic fans of the Trinidad and Tobago football team triggered a security scare yesterday at the World Cup training base in Rotenburg, northern Germany.

The visit of the almost 300 fans from the Caribbean, who are on a charter and staying at hotels in Hanover, was unannounced and caused the security officials in this quaint little town to spring into frenzied action.

According to Brigadier John Sandy, who is in charge of the team’s security at the World Cup, it took hurried calls to Berlin, the German capital where the FIFA Organising Committee for the World Cup is located, to give their approval for the fans to get up close with the Soca Warriors.

He said it was the first time so many spectators have been allowed to watch the Trinidad and Tobago team train at their base which is usually done under coach Leo Beenhakker behind closed doors.

Once approval was received, however, the excited fans, most wearing the national team colours, cheered on their stars. After the 90-minute training session was over, players happily posed for photographers and signed autographs.

Also among the crowd were family members of the team who grabbed the opportunity to speak in person to their loved ones since they have been secluded even before the World Cup began.

Sandy said the situation concerning the unannounced visit of the tour group was viewed seriously since the Germans want to avoid any untoward incident at all costs.

“If anything happens it could have serious repercussions. So it was necessary to get approval at the highest level,” he explained.

Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday made an auspicious start to the World Cup Finals on debut, earning a courageous draw with Sweden in their opening match of Group ‘B’ in Dortmund.

Soca Warriors fans totalling close to 7,000 were at the FIFA World Cup Stadium to see their team hold on for a share of the points playing with ten men in the second half after defender Avery John was sent off after being handed his second yellow card of the match for a dangerous tackle.

Yesterday, Sandy said fans can expect stepped up security for the team’s next match against England in Nuremberg on June 15.

Terrorism experts have warned that matches involving England and the United States will be watched carefully because of those countries’ involvement in the Iraq war. However, Sandy expressed confidence in the measures taken by the German authorities to protect the Trinidad and Tobago team and their supporters from any harm.

“I visited a security conference in Germany in March and was impressed with the level of preparedness that the local officials had put in place. They are ready for any eventuality,” Sandy said yesterday.

He said the German security forces had learned much from the Palestinian terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics in 1972 when many Israeli athletes lost their lives.

“They have great experience and are determined not to let another Munich happen again,” he said. He said for Trinidad and Tobago’s first match on Saturday he had a chance to see the measures in place first hand and came away quite impressed.

“We had a full floor at the Dortmund hotel where the team stayed and there were security guys all around.

There were three rings of security manned by those who could recognise and those who you couldn’t identify,” Sandy said.

“Even the players who were reluctant to wear their security clearance were stopped and not allowed to proceed as they liked. It was all necessary for their own protection,” said the top army man.

Sandy said even fans streaming into the stadium, many of them Swedish, were pulled away and taken into private quarters where they were examined and questioned.

The tight security arrangements were clearly evident around the team base in Rotenburg where uniformed police officers, including one on a trail bicycle, assisted by many stewards in bright pink fluorescent vests and other personnel in coat and tie, roamed the grounds regulating the crowd and keeping a close eye on the proceedings.