Their choice of France’s 2-0 win over Germany was explained because of the two nations’ history of invading other countries and the fact that president Francois Hollande was in attendance.
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The story quoted a security guard, referred to only by his first name, Zouheir, who described how one of the suicide bombers had a ticket to the France-Germany match but was turned away at the gates when his explosive vest was discovered.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins apparently claimed that he was wearing a vest which contained explosives and bolts, with the idea of causing maximum damage once inside the stadium.
According to French police, the attacker aimed to detonate his explosives inside the stadium in order to cause a deadly stampede. The trio of blasts marked the start of Friday’s coordinated attacks that killed 129 people and wounded another 352 across Paris.
One civilian was killed in the attacks, police said.
Both Diarra and Griezmann played 80 minutes of the match against Germany.
Zouheir told reporters: “Once I saw [Francois] Hollande being evacuated, I knew it wasn’t firecrackers”.
Michel Spingler/AP Investigating police officers work outside the Stade de France stadium after the explosion.
Reports indicate that one of the bombs was detonated near a McDonald’s restaurant on the fringes of the stadium, which is due to host the European Championship in seven months’ time.
To the surprise of many, however, France’s football federation (FFF) confirmed Saturday that the global match would go ahead as planned.
Tom Burridge analyses what happened at the Stade de France when three suicide bombers tried to enter during the Paris attacks.
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One fan said that although he began getting news alerts on his mobile phone about the attacks in Paris, he didn’t immediately make the connection with the blasts heard at the stadium, believing the loud noise to be firecrackers.
