France players to honor victims of Paris attacks in 2015

PARIS AP The French soccer federation will pay tribute to the casualties of the November attacks that targeted the Bataclan theater Paris caf s and the national stadium in assaults that killed more than people and injured over France s national squad hosts Ukraine on Nov in a men s World Cup qualifier years after the worst attack on French soil since World War II To commemorate the anniversary the French federation noted Friday it will take part in national ceremonies honoring the casualties The match will not be played at the Stade de France one of the sites attacked that night but at the Parc des Princes in Paris Players will wear the Bleuet de France an emblem symbolizing remembrance and solidarity with casualties A fundraising campaign will be held around the stadium and a minute s silence observed before kickoff A banner reading Football for Peace will be unfurled at the center of the pitch The night of the attack was a balmy Friday evening with the city s bars and restaurants packed At the Bataclan concert venue the American band Eagles of Death Metal were playing to a full house At the national stadium just outside Paris a soccer match between France and Germany had just begun attended by then-President Francois Hollande and then-Chancellor Angela Merkel In the bloody events jihadists detonated suicide vests and opened fire on cafes in the French capital before massacring spectators of a concert at the Bataclan The Stade de France in the suburb of Saint-Denis was the sole site outside Paris to come under assault from Islamic State extremists The three suicide bombers struck outside the stadium and killed one man At least one of the bombers had tried to get in despite not having a ticket but was turned away by a guard guard Salim Toorabaly The person who died in Saint-Denis was Manuel Dias a Portuguese retiree who drove busloads of fans to the stadium to earn a little extra money Source