The NFL continues to insist on playing in Paris on Sunday, despite local unrest that has sparked periodic riots. And the league remains at full speed for the Steelers-Saints game.
At the same time, a football match scheduled for Sunday evening in Paris was postponed by decision of the authorities.
The PSG-Lyon match, which was to be played on Sunday at 7:45 p.m. local time at the Parc des Princes, was moved to Mondayvia Léon Imber from Athletics. The venue is located in the southwest of Paris, which (via Imber) has been heavily impacted by the protests.
The situation could, in theory, pivot towards the Stade de France, where the Saints Steelers will play at 3:30 p.m. local time.
The league announced that game security would be increased. This necessarily reduces the resources that would be available elsewhere in the city – and it does nothing to secure the path fans will take to the security perimeter of the facility where the game will be played.
The conservative play would be to move the game to one of the two NFL-ready stadiums in London, if either is available.
At this point, it’s too late to play the game in New Orleans; both teams are in Paris and ready to go. The best solution would be to avoid the non-zero risk of an incident on Sunday and give Paris a check for a future football season when the city isn’t literally on fire.
Gn sports
