The organising committee of Euro 2016 have said that they are confident of delivering a safe tournament despite concerns over the possibility of a terrorist attack in France.
Paris was the scene of a string of coordinated attacks in November of last year, while earlier this week Ukrainian officials revealed that they had arrested a Frenchman while he was trying to smuggle weapons back into his home country with the intention of carrying out attacks on 15 different Euro 2016 sites.
However, Jacques Lambert, the president of Euro 2016 SAS, insists that the authorities have not received any concrete evidence of threats to security at any of the tournament venues.
"My message is clear - we have no knowledge of targeted, concrete threats within a stadium or other venue at Euro 2016. I believe the messages that have come from a number of countries are understandably precautionary but we are in constant touch with the French security services and they are contact with their partners in Europe and elsewhere," he said in a statement.
"We've worked hand in hand with the relevant authorities for the last four years to bring the best possible event to the fans. Everybody is up to speed and nobody is unaware of what has happened in France or Europe in regards to security. We've had to deal with what was imposed upon us but we have wanted to stay focused on delivering the best possible Euros, regardless of external circumstances that we couldn't control.
"Yes, we've had to stiffen our security measures, and we've worked with the French government to find the most effective measures possible. But our eternal goal these last few months has been to move out of this negative spiral that we've found ourselves in."
This summer's tournament gets underway on Friday, with hosts France kicking off against Romania at the Stade de France.
Barney Corkhill
