IN A SIGN of solidarity, the German and French players both slept in the Stade de France on Friday night following the Paris terrorist attacks.
The players weren’t aware of what had happened in the country’s capital as they trooped off the pitch after the international friendly in St. Denis.
Speaking to the BBC, German football journalist Martin Roschitz explained how both camps didn’t feel safe enough to leave the stadium and remained there overnight.
Oliver Bierhoff (Germany’s team manager) informed the players and then they tried to phone their relatives and friends. They slept in the stadium – it was incredible. It was too risky to go to the team hotel because there was a bomb warning the day before. They didn’t feel safe in the hotel so they decided to stay in the stadium with the French team, who stayed there as well.
They tried to find their spots but you know what a football stadium is like. There are no beds, there are a few showers and that’s it. They tried to get some sleep but it wasn’t possible. I saw them in the airplane and everyone fell asleep within seconds because they were so tired and exhausted.”
The acting president of the German FA, Reinhard Rauball, praised the French players for their ‘outstanding gesture of camaraderie’.
“The French said that they were staying as long as Germany had to stay”, he added.
