A fan asked the number 10 to sign his shoes after the game against Yverdon.Image: KEYSTONE
On Sunday after Basel-Yverdon, several children entered the pitch to approach Xherdan Shaqiri. The FC Basel star is travelling to Valais on Saturday and it will be up to FC Sion to maintain order. The club has already considered a solution.
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At the final whistle of the match between Basel and Yverdon (2-0) on Sunday, we witnessed scenes that we are not used to seeing at Parc Saint-Jacques, nor in the Super League. Several children broke through the advertising boards and tried to cross the pitch to approach Xherdan Shaqiri. The former star of the national team (125 caps) was playing his first match in Switzerland for 12 years. These intrusions multiplied for about ten minutes and gave the stewards a lot of work.
FC Basel did not expect this. “This normally never happens, except during European matches, when the crowd wants to approach the opposing fans,” says Remo Meister, the head of communications at FCB. For him, it is clear that this is a side effect of the enthusiasm generated by Xherdan Shaqiri since his return to Switzerland.
FC Basel have a meeting this Tuesday in which they will discuss the previous home game (against Yverdon) and the next one (against FC Zurich). It is very likely that the subject concerning the safety of the number 10 will be discussed, and just as likely that the system will be reinforced for the game against FCZ on September 21. “We are always more vigilant during matches against Zurich,” emphasizes Remo Meister. “And then, we can easily expect 30,000 people to come that day, which is normal for such a game, whereas it was not the case against Yverdon.”
The last time Basel hosted Yverdon, there were 17,920 fans at the Parc Saint-Jacques. On Sunday, there were 30,013 to cheer Shaqiri.Image: KEYSTONE
Between Yverdon and Zurich, there is Sion. FC Basel travels to Tourbillon this Saturday (6 p.m.) and the Valais club has already considered a solution so that Xherdan Shaqiri is not bothered at the end of the match.
“Usually after the final whistle, we place stewards and security guards in front of the side stands, so as to prevent spectators from entering the pitch,” recalls Michaël Tas, FC Sion’s security manager. For Saturday’s game, we will certainly put a few extra people in to have a slightly denser security cordon than usual.. That’s what we did for Mario Balotelli and it worked very well.”
Only the ball boys had access to the Italian striker in Tourbillon.Image: KEYSTONE
Xherdan Shaqiri will therefore only be able to think about football, which is not necessarily good news for FC Sion. Even if the Basel number 10 is not yet at 100% of his athletic abilities, his vision of the game and his precision on set pieces already make him a poison for any opponent.
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