Posted at 6:10 a.m. PST Monday, December 8, 1997
French probe attempt to sabotage World Cup draw
MARSEILLE, France, Dec 8 (Reuters) - French police are investigating an
attempt to sabotage the stadium power supply during last week's
worldwide broadcast of the draw for the 1998 soccer World Cup.
A spokesman for the national power company Electricite de France (EDF)
said on Monday that unidentified attackers broke into a power substation
and cut off the stadium's emergency back-up power supply.
EDF described the incident as sabotage and said it was discovered after
local residents reported a power cut during the soccer match played at
the stadium just before Thursday's draw.
Tens of millions watched the televised draw, which would have been
severely disrupted if the stadium's main power supply had been cut.
``EDF...had taken special steps to ensure the security of the stadium's
supply. Therefore, only the back-up system was affected and the draw
took place normally,'' EDF said.
``EDF...lodged a complaint and police are investigating,'' it said.
Police in this Mediterranean port city said they were taking the
incident very seriously but had no clue as to who was responsible.
``This is a very serious matter,'' one police source said. ``It could be
a warning aimed at showing that fully-fledged sabotage is feasible.''
EDF sources said the suspected saboteurs appeared to be experts fully
aware of the stadium's power facilities.
Marseille is one of 10 venues for the World Cup which takes place in
France from June 10 to July 12 next year.
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