France’s soccer match in England to go ahead despite attacks

Zouheir discovered the attacker wearing a vest loaded with explosives when he frisked him at the entrance to the stadium about 15 minutes into the game, according to The Wall Street Journal.

2130 – Outside the Stade de France, a second suicide bomber detonates a bomb, killing himself.

France ended up winning the game 2-0 but the match was overshadowed by the attacks that took place in the capital. Then his walkie-talkie came alive with chatter, and he noticed that French President Francois Hollande-who was in attendance at the Stade de France-was being ushered out of the stadium.

It is believed that the aim was to detonate the vest inside the stadium, harming the other spectators as well as creating a deadly stampede.

Teammate Antoine Griezmann, who also played on Friday, said his sister was in the audience at a concert at the Bataclan hall in Paris, where dozens were killed after a hostage taking.

At least one of the attackers tried to get in, despite not having a ticket, but was turned away, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the complex and fast-evolving investigation.

Hollande was quickly evacuated but the players and fans were not immediately told about what was going on to avoid panic.

Three people were killed and several more injured following an explosion outside the Stade de France, the president of the French Football Federation has confirmed. France and England’s football associations decided that Tuesday’s game should go ahead, prompting an unprecedented security operation involving armed police patrols and “extensive searches”.

Zouheir said he thought the early blast was a firecracker, which fans sometimes set off at European soccer matches. At least two blasts were heard clearly inside the stadium, witnesses said, and on the television broadcast.