Goodell says NFL is comfortable with security around Sunday’s Paris game amid protests

The NFL ’s comfort level with security for the upcoming game in Paris is “very high” despite the ongoing protests in France, commissioner Roger Goodell said at the league meetings on Wednesday.

But with unrest in the city expected to surge on Saturday, Goodell said of the potential need for a last-minute pivot, “We’ll deal with that.”

Last weekend, more than 2,000 people were arrested in Paris as part of widespread protests over the cost of living and the state of education in France. There were at least two deaths and reports of serious injuries .

The Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints are scheduled to play on Sunday at the Stade de France just outside of the capital.

The league has been on the ground for well over a week, working closely with both the Parisian authorities and the State Department. Goodell said he had a conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio just a few days ago.

On Tuesday, Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s head of international affairs, said, “All of our plans for the Paris game this weekend are moving forward as planned.”

He also said that while they have contingency plans for every game, they’ve yet to seriously consider relocating the game from the Stade de France, the national stadium that hosted major events during the 2024 Olympics.

The NFL is playing a record-high nine international games this season as part of a concerted push to market the game globally. The collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players union allows the league to schedule up to 10 international games in a season, and O’Reilly said they are considering playing that many in 2027.

“All of our events we have going on, we always have a very strong security presence around all of those events,” O’Reilly said. “And that presence will be heightened with local authorities making sure that there’s nothing more important from our standpoint than the team security, the fan security, everybody involved with this game.”

France promises ‘massive’ police presence this weekend as cities impose more curfews after protest violence

O’Reilly acknowledged that ensuring the NFL doesn’t deplete local security resources required elsewhere to quell violence is “a very important factor.”

“As we stand here right now, we feel confident that we would not have any impact on the broader resources needed,” he said.

French authorities have implemented a curfew and expect a significant protest this Saturday.

“We’ve made all the preparations. We’ve been in touch with the appropriate authorities,” Goodell said. “Protests are not unusual in France.”

The matchup between the Steelers and Saints will be the first NFL game in France.

“We look forward to it,” Goodell said, “and I’m leaving shortly to go myself.”

NFL总裁罗杰·古德尔周三在联盟会议上表示，尽管法国持续发生抗议活动，但NFL对即将到来的巴黎比赛的安全保障“非常有信心”。

但由于预计周六该市的骚乱将会加剧，古德尔在谈到可能需要在最后一刻做出调整时表示：“我们会处理这个问题。”

上周末，巴黎爆发大规模抗议活动，抗议法国生活成本高昂和教育状况恶劣，超过2000人被捕。抗议活动造成至少两人死亡，并有多人重伤。

匹兹堡钢人队和新奥尔良圣徒队定于周日在首都郊外的法兰西体育场进行比赛。

联盟已在当地工作一周多，与巴黎当局和美国国务院密切合作。古德尔表示，就在几天前，他还与国务卿马可·卢比奥进行了交谈。

周二，NFL国际事务主管彼得·奥莱利表示：“我们本周末在巴黎举行的比赛的所有计划都在按计划进行。”

他还表示，虽然他们为每场比赛都制定了应急计划，但他们还没有认真考虑将比赛场地从法兰西体育场（2024 年奥运会期间举办重大赛事的国家体育场）迁走。

本赛季，NFL将举办创纪录的九场国际比赛，这是其在全球范围内大力推广这项运动的举措之一。根据联盟与球员工会的集体谈判协议，联盟每个赛季最多可以安排十场国际比赛，奥莱利表示，他们正在考虑在2027年也举办同样数量的国际比赛。

奥莱利表示：“我们举办的所有活动，都会在现场部署大量安保人员。而且，地方当局会加强安保力度，确保对我们来说，没有什么比球队安全、球迷安全以及所有与比赛相关人员的安全更重要的了。”

法国承诺本周末将部署“大量”警力，此前多个城市在抗议暴力事件后实施了更多宵禁。

奥莱利承认，确保 NFL 不会耗尽其他地方用于平息暴力的当地安全资源是“一个非常重要的因素”。

他说：“就目前而言，我们有信心不会对所需的更广泛资源造成任何影响。”

法国当局已实施宵禁，并预计本周六将发生大规模抗议活动。

古德尔说：“我们已经做好了一切准备，也与相关部门取得了联系。在法国，抗议活动并不罕见。”

钢人队与圣徒队的比赛将是NFL在法国举行的首场比赛。

“我们很期待，”古德尔说，“我很快也要亲自去一趟。”