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R/£ Flak over 2010 bulletproof vest warning
October 22, 2009 Edition 3
Alex Eliseev and Sapa-AP
A group of German soccer stars traipsing around Pretoria in bulletproof vests with armed bodyguards swirling around them like barmaids at a beer fest.
That's what we can expect to see if that country's 2010 football team listen to the alleged advice dished out by a private security company bidding for a chance to protect Michael Ballack and the boys.
An article in sports magazine Sport Bild yesterday quoted a German security firm, BaySecur, warning that the "possibility for the players moving outside of the (Pretoria) hotel boundaries should be kept to a minimum".
The article quotes the company's Guenter Schnelle as saying: "Otherwise there must be a full escort: armed security guards and bulletproof vests for the players".
The Star contacted Schnelle yesterday and he said the journalists who wrote the article had "invented" the comments.
He denied ever discussing bulletproof vests and bodyguards with the journalists and said he had been dragged over the coals for what emerged in the media.
Although apologetic, he would not be drawn on sharing his feelings on South Africa and its crime situation, saying he was not allowed to make further comments.
"Everything is an invention," he maintained.
The debacle follows the bad publicity South Africa received when Brandon Huntley was granted refugee status in Canada, claiming he feared returning to Cape Town because of violent crime. He also said he was being targeted because he was white.
BaySecur is a Leverkusen-based company that hopes to be hired by the German Football Federation (DFB) to provide player security during the World Cup.
The contract would include looking after the star players and the team's guests.
The DFB is sending its security chief to South Africa to inspect the team's headquarters during the World Cup before deciding if any extra security would be needed.
Helmut Spahn, the federation's head of security, will travel to South Africa at the end of this week to assess the security situation. Any additional measures would have to be cleared by Fifa and the South African organisers.
"We'll have to adjust to a World Cup under different conditions," said national team manager Oliver Bierhoff, responsible for logistics. "The players won't be able to move so freely as they did in 2006 in Germany or in 2008 at the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland."
Meanwhile, reaction to the news has poured into the IOL website. One reader said the bulletproofs would tire out the players and make them easier to beat on the pitch.
Another joked: "General Bheki Cele (national police commissioner) ... please tell them about our shoot to kill police. LOL."
The SAPS has always maintained it is ready to provide security during the World Cup and that it boasts an excellent track record of watching over large international events.
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