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Alan Shearer reveals his near miss in Paris terrorist attacks

8 years ago
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Alan Shearer has revealed that he came very close to being caught up in the terrorist outrages in Paris on Friday night.

The United legend says that only one day earlier he had been doing media work with Zinedine Zidane in the vicinity of the Stade de France.

The scene of where reportedly three suicide bombers blew themselves up, with the media saying that one even had a ticket and was only stopped from entering the stadium when he was searched and the explosives discovered.

Alan Shearer then adding that later on Thursday night he had gone for a meal in very close proximity to where some of the other terrorists had attacked people in bars and restaurants.

Speaking to The Sun, Shearer says that ‘a chill’ went down his spine on Friday night, when news of the Paris attacks came through as he was watching the England match on TV in a Newcastle pub.

The Newcastle great says that once France said they wanted the friendly with England to go ahead, it was totally the right decision to do so.

Alan Shearer also thinks that next summer’s Euros in France need to go ahead, to show a ‘United front’ in the face of these outrages.

Alan Shearer talking to The Sun:

‘I was watching the England game on Friday night in a pub in Newcastle when the horrific news started to filter through about what had happened in Paris.

But a chill went down my spine when I realised that just 24 hours earlier I had been in the same area enjoying a meal in a small French restaurant.

It was very close to where the atrocities took place the following night. I felt a real sense of ‘it could have been me.’

It is horrendous what has happened and my heart goes out to all those people, who like myself and three others, had just gone out for an enjoyable few hours in a lovely part of a great city.

The thing that struck me was the diversity of backgrounds that mixed together in that particular area. It was really laid back and very popular in many places.

Where we ate was quiet with windows facing out on to the street. It never passed my mind for one second that this would be a dangerous area to be and what horror would visit that area just 24 hours later.

Earlier I had been at an arena near the Stade de France doing an interview for Football Focus with Zinedine Zidane about French football, the 1998 World Cup and next summer’s Euros in that country.

He spoke to me about how the World Cup there in 1998 had brought French people from so many different backgrounds together.

It is even more important now that Euro 2016 does that again and shows a united front in the face of these terrorists.

More immediately the French football authorities want the friendly game with England tomorrow at Wembley to go ahead, so it is right that it does.

It shows a defiant stance in the face of terror. But how any of those French players will be able to concentrate on football I do not know.

It is no longer about the result or performance but about the football community coming together at Wembley to show a united front.

Tomorrow against France will not be about making evaluations (on England). It is bigger than that.

I’m not sure if the fans who will fill the stadium once again will really be able to enjoy it.

Of all the separate horrifying incidents of Friday night, the thought of what could have happened had the suicide bombers got in the Stade de France will shake everyone who has been at a major game.

Indeed it will make everyone nervous going into any game for the foreseeable future, and understandably so.

Tomorrow night, though, at Wembley — the home of football — we will show that these thugs will not intimidate us and the people of France will see that the English game stands with them.’

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