- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Australian Olympic officials have admitted concern over a terrorism scare at a soccer stadium which will host the Olyroos, but remain confident China’s security measures will keep their athletes safe.
IOC confirms Beijing Games ban on Iraq
Chinese police say they have cracked a terrorist cell planning to attack Shanghai Stadium less than a fortnight before the Olyroos open their Games campaign at the venue, about 1,000km south-east of Beijing.
Australia are due to play Serbia on August 7 and Argentina on August 10 at the stadium in the preliminary rounds of the Olympic soccer competition.
Chinese authorities had made several arrests in raids, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
Australian Olympic Committee spokesman Mike Tancred said news of a terrorist plot was worrying.
But he said China’s security measures were the biggest seen at an Olympics, and today’s news had not dented Australia’s confidence in the host nation’s ability to protect its athletes.
“Any incident like this is obviously a major concern for us because the athletes’ welfare is our No.1 priority and we have a duty of care,” Tancred told AAP from Beijing.
“Defusing this incident just shows they’re on top of the situation and we feel very comfortable and confident with the security measures that are in place.
“We feel very safe.”
An estimated 110,000 army and police officers are involved in security measures for the Games.
The Xinhua report did not specify when the operation had taken place, or how many suspects had been detained.
Shanghai’s Olympic security boss Cheng Jiulong said the venue’s security was now safe but told Xinhua: “The threat of terror attack still exists.
“We have obtained information that international terrorist organisations would likely launch an attack against an Olympic venue in the city during the Games.
“We have staged raids and cracked a group of terrorists.”
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says Chinese authorities are taking athletes’ security seriously.
He said he had seen media reports about the scare in Shanghai but was yet to receive a briefing from Australia’s diplomats in China.
“First and foremost (the) responsibility that we all face in partnership with our friends in the Chinese government is the security of the athletes who represent Australia,” he told reporters in Port Douglas, north Queensland.
“That is my first and foremost concern and, based on the evidence I have so far, the Chinese authorities are taking the security challenges in Beijing and elsewhere in China most seriously.”
Earlier this month, state media said police had arrested 82 suspected terrorists in Xinjiang who had been involved in plotting attacks on the Olympics.
Authorities are also concerned about the threat posed by pro-independence activists in Tibet following China’s crackdown on unrest there in March.
A Football Federation Australia spokesperson said the body was still digesting the reports on today’s scare, but the news hadn’t lowered the FFA’s confidence in China’s security plans.
“We have every confidence in the plans the Chinese Olympic organising committee has in place,” she said.
The Olyroos are currently playing lead-up matches in Korea, and arrive in China on August 1.