Gianni Infantino has expressed his sadness upon learning about the awful tragedy that struck Iraqi football and offered his condolences. The Swiss-Italian lawyer was elected as president of FIFA earlier this year and noted his shock upon learning the news that an amateur game of football was the victim of a suicide bomb attack.
Infantino released a statement through the FIFA press office, saying “I'm shocked and terribly saddened to have learnt about the awful tragedy, which occurred yesterday at a football game in Iskandariya, Iraq. Around the world, football unites people. It is a very sad day when people, going to a match together, become the victims of such violence.”
The suicide bomber struck an amateur game in Iskandariya, a town roughly 50 kilometres south of Baghdad in Iraq. More that 32 people are understood to have lost their lives, with more than 60 people injured as well.
Infantino offered his condolences to those affected, saying “On behalf of FIFA and the global football community, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the victims' families. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy and all our football friends in Iraq.”
Football is becoming a target for terrorist attacks
According to monitoring organisation SITE, Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the attack, posting a statement on their website claiming that they were responsible. A suicide bomber detonated a crude, but powerful bomb right amidst an amateur football game.
The victims, sadly, are mostly children who were attending the game, which was confirmed by reports emerging after the blast.
Here is amateur footage of the blast (CAUTION: images might be disturbing)
This latest attack cements football’s status as an easy target for terrorists, since it involves a large gathering of unarmed people in close proximity, thus allowing for maximum casualties. Earlier in the year, France were the victims of an attack, with Paris under siege by a series of blasts that were carried out by ISIS as well.
However, since the blast occurred outside of the Stade de France as Germany and France playing a friendly; with security forces in place preventing the bomber from entering inside, a potential large-scale catastrophe was avoided, although it was still an attack on football, much like the one in Iraq.
