It had been planned as a prestige end-of-year friendly — but England’s meeting with France at Wembley Tuesday will instead become a 90,000-strong tribute to the victims of the Paris terror attacks.
On Saturday, both the French Football Federation (FFF) and the English Football Association (FA) issued statements to confirm that the game would go ahead in the aftermath of the atrocity, in which at least 129 people died at a series of locations across the French capital Friday.
The attacks, the worst violence in Paris since the Second World War, saw an area close to the Stade de France targeted as France played World Cup winners Germany in a friendly match.
Explosions, which claimed the lives of four people, could clearly be heard in the stadium although the match, won 2-0 by France, was played to a conclusion.
Security guards in the area told CNN that one of the bombers tried to enter the stadium but was stopped by security.
Both the German and French teams stayed in the stadium overnight, with acting German FA president Reinhard Rauball praising the France players for their “outstanding gesture of camaraderie.”
Fans leaving at the end of the game, bewildered but defiant, sang French national anthem La Marseillaise — and now all those present at Wembley on Tuesday are being urged to do the same in a show of unity with the people of France.
The words to the anthem will be displayed on the stadium’s giant screens, while the landmark Wembley arch will be lit in the colors of the French Tricolore. The French national motto — Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite — will glow from screens outside the ground.
Michael Adams, of the FA’s official England Supporters’ Club, said: “We should all show our solidarity by singing La Marseillaise along with the French fans. It would send out a very powerful sign.”
The group’s Garry Hodgkinson urged England fans to “stand shoulder to shoulder with our French cousins on Tuesday night and pay our respects to those who sadly lost their lives.”
France midfielder Lassana Diarra, who lost a cousin in the attacks, and Antoine Griezmann, whose sister escaped the deadliest assault at the Bataclan theater, where 89 people died, are in a full 23-man France squad that has traveled to London for the match.
FFF president Noe Le Graet said the decision to play the match had been taken by “me alone,” with reports suggesting some France players had been surprised to be told that it would go ahead.
England coach Roy Hodgson said after the decision that the match would be an occasion that “shows the football world is united against these atrocities.”
“I am sure the England team and our fans will play their part and show solidarity with our French friends on Tuesday and provide support for both teams during this difficult time,” he added.
“The events in Paris have left us all shocked and we are thinking of the victims, their loved ones and all those affected by these tragic events.”
France coach Didier Deschamps, who has not so far spoken about what happened Friday, is due to address the media along with captain Hugo Lloris later Monday.
The long shadow cast by the horrors of Friday means Tuesday’s game will see the biggest security operation ever conducted at the new Wembley stadium.
After discussions between the FA, the Metropolitan Police and government officials, fans are being told to arrive early, with arrangements having been made for stringent personnel and bag checks and extra security forces around the stadium and on transport routes leading to the national stadium.
Armed officers will also be on standby.
France will host the European Championship across June and July 2016, with tournament organizer Jacques Lambert pledging that the “necessary decisions” would be taken to ensure the event took place safely.
But the country’s legendary striker Just Fontaine, who scored an astonishing 13 goals in six games at the 1958 World Cup, has said he believes France should relinquish their right to stage the event.
The Marrakech-born 82-year-old told German newspaper Die Welt: “Any other country could stage the event, but we cannot. I think France should forgo the tournament.
“I am very afraid that this black Friday could be repeated. I think we cannot guarantee the safety that is required to host such a big event. It is simply too dangerous.
“Do you really think that people are going to go to the Stade de France in future?”
A minute’s silence was held across Europe Monday in memory of those who lost their lives in the atrocity.