KEIR RADNEDGE in RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil’s World Cup liaison minister Luis Fernandes has revealed how delicate was the security balance which kept the Confederations Cup on track this past fortnight.

Fernandes was speaking at a media review of the competition – an event which lapsed into a political rally at times as he and Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo proclaimed the event’s value to Brazilian society.

FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke has said that at no time was any consideration given to cancelling the event. He insisted event security was an issue for the government, not for FIFA.

However, with the Cup now history, Fernandes offered a remarkable insight into the security reality.

He said: “Staging a successful Confederations Cup was achieved under extraordinary conditions which were far from normal.

Participants’ safety

“I don’t mean the demonstrations because this is a right all citizens have but I mean the effects of violence undertaken by some people who infiltrated the demonstrations.

“They tried to hurt our plans and tried to jeopardise the security of all the participants.

“So I believe that to conclude the Cup without any severe incidents when it came to security for the participants – be they players or officials or technical staff or referees or fans – has been a great achievement.”

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