Players told of escape plans in event of attack during powder-keg Marseille match
Stars are taken aside by security boss as tension spirals ahead of England's opener in 'The Most Dangerous City In Europe'
ENGLAND football stars have been taken aside by team security chiefs to be given escape plans in the event of a terror attack, it was revealed yesterday.
Players were briefed on potentially life-saving instructions as they prepared to head for the powder-keg port of Marseille for the opening clash against Russia.
FA security chief Tony Conniford took players and backroom staff for low-key individual chats to avoid upsetting the camp prior to Saturday’s game.
A Three Lions insider said: “The players weren’t called together as a group but have been spoken to individually about what to do and how to react should the worst happen.
“They were advised on evacuation procedures and told exactly what to do in the event of an attack and how to stay safe.
“Everyone is aware of the increased threat but the aim was to keep that thought in the background while making sure everyone is properly briefed.
“Tony is hugely experienced after a 30 year career with the Metropolitan Police before joining the FA and is ideally placed to offer advice."
England fly to Marseille today for a fixture that's top of French anti-terror forces’ list of “sensitive” games amid massive security following the November attacks which killed 130 in Paris.
The city has a 40 per cent Muslim population and has been dubbed "The Most Dangerous City In Europe" due to gun and gang crime.
More than 1,000 armed police backed by special forces and hundreds more private security personnel will guard the city's 60,000-seat Velodrome Stadium and an 80,000 capacity fan zone on Prado Beach.
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Snipers will also watch over the historic harbourside Vieux Port area recently revealed to have been on a hit list on a computer used by Paris terror attack quartermaster Salah Abdeslam.
Roy Hodgson’s men are being shielded by French police close protection officers discretely armed with automatic pistols in shoulder holsters under their suit jackets.
They work alongside unarmed special forces-trained British security staff.
Gendarmes armed with rapid-firing Heckler and Koch sub machine guns and side arms form a second ring supported by French special forces troops on standby.
And army units - already spotted in camouflage fatigues near the team hotel in Chantilly - will also shadow the squad wherever they go.
FA officials have also refused to confirm the location of the hotel where England will spend Friday night amid spiralling security tension in Marseille.
Conniford said on his appointment in December 2013 : "I've worked in many different roles throughout my police career and in the past two decades had a particular focus on football.
The last time the Three Lions played in Marseille, mayhem erupted when England thugs ran riot before the first game of the France 98 World Cup against Tunisia.
But British police chiefs warned French CRS police riot units will be focused on terror and will be in no mood to tolerate hooligans.
At least 30,000 English fans began flooding into the city yesterday - and immediately noticed the security crackdown.
An FA spokesman said: “We don’t talk about security around the team but can say that we are very happy with the arrangements in place.
“The low key approach we have adopted has raised awareness while allowing us to focus on football.”
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