• Source:JND

JE Sports Desk:  It's that time of the calendar year when the third and the most popular Grand Slam Tennis tournament is set to start on July 3 amidst the incidents of Oil protestors intervening the sports matches and events across the United Kingdom.

Considering the threat, the All England Club has decided to increase and tighten the security plans for Wimbledon in coordination with London police and other intelligence agencies in order to avoid any kind of unusual sequence.

Several incidents were witnessed of the protestors targetting Premier League soccer matches, the Premiership rugby final at Twickenham, and the world snooker championship in Sheffield this year.

The All England Club operations director Michelle Dite confirmed the upliftment in the security arrangements after considerable communication with the security agencies and confirmed the update on Thursday.

"Based on what has happened at other sporting events, and on the advice from our key partners, we have reviewed our security plans, which have now been uplifted for The Championships accordingly. We have plans in place to mitigate the risks working in partnership with specialist agencies and the Metropolitan Police and should an incident occur the appropriate specialist teams will respond," Dite said.

"The safety and security of all our players, colleagues, and visitors is paramount. Throughout the year, we work closely with the Metropolitan Police and other relevant organizations to ensure that The Championships is as safe and secure as possible and that our plans and measures are commensurate with the threat level and prevailing risks," he added.

Earlier this week, a massive interruption was seen when the Just Stop Oil Protestors barged into the iconic Lord's Stadium and attempted to harm the pitch on the opening day of the second Ashes Test between England and Australia.

However, the intruders were stopped by players and the security staff with one of them even being carried away by England wicket Jonny Bairstow himself.

The England cricket team bus was also seen stopping by the protestors during their Test match against Ireland.

Post the interruption in Ashes, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) CEO Guy Lavender release an official statement condemning the actions of protestors.

"MCC condemn in the strongest possible terms today's pitch incursion and with the behavior of the protesters involved," it said. "Their actions not only endanger themselves and those who work at the ground but they have consistently shown complete disregard for the people who pay to attend events, not just here at Lord's but around the country at other sporting venues," the statement read.

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