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Bomb threat forces Germany out of Paris hotel

Chuck PenfoldNovember 13, 2015

The hotel housing the German national team had to be evacuated due to a bomb threat. This came hours before Germany was to take on France in a friendly match. A search of the hotel was conducted but no bomb was found.

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Paris Teamhotel DFB-Team Bombendrohung
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Richter

The national team was forced to leave its hotel shortly after 9 a.m. CET (0800UTC) on Friday after the bomb threat came through an anonymous telephone call.

"It was a big shock, but then everthing was handled very well, very calmly," the national team's manager, Oliver Bierhoff told reporters afterwards. "We didn't want to take any chances so in consultation with the French authorities, we left the hotel."

The team has since been able to return to the hotel.

"Everybody is relieved," Bierhoff said. "We got the green light from the authorities, but of course the investigation is continuing. This kind of thing can happen in any country on earth."

The manager conceded that the preparations for Friday night's friendly at the Stade du France were "a little disrupted." This he said, was not meant as an excuse should the team not perform as well as expected on the field. He also noted that the German team and delegation had not even considered cancelling the game or an early departure from the French capital.

During the couple of hours when they were forced out of their hotel, the players visited the nearby the Roland Garros tennis stadum, which annually hosts the French Open.