LONDON: England’s friendly international against France at Wembley on Tuesday will go ahead despite the terror attacks in Paris which included three deaths in explosions outside the Stade de France.
French football federation president Noel Le Graet said that, after all the essential discussions, Les Bleus would travel to London.
FA chairman Greg Dyke concurred.
He said: “Our thoughts and sincere condolences are with the city of Paris after these terrible atrocities. On behalf of the FA, I want to express our sorrow and send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of those who have lost their lives.
“After consulting this morning with the French Football Federation and the British Government, we have decided together that the match between our two countries at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday should go ahead.
“We will use the opportunity to pay our respects to all affected and also to express our solidarity with the people of France.”
Blasts outside the Stade de France came in the 20th minute of France’s 2-0 win over Germany, and were audible inside the stadium. Subsequent speculation raised the possibility that the terrorists had planned to explode their devices inside the stadium during the game.
One of the victims of the attacks was a female cousin of Lassana Diarra who had been playing in the match for France.
All UEFA matches in the next few days will see teams wear black armbands (Euro 2016 play-offs, under-21, under-19 Futsal Cup etc) with a minute’s silence being held before kickoffs.
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