Euro 2008 was the target of a credible terrorist threat, Swiss defence minister Samuel Schmid said in an interview published on the final day of the tournament.

Schmid, also his country's sports minister, said that security forces had acted on information that 'certain preparations had been carried out for an attack'.

The defence minister gave no precise details but said the incident was not related to a previously reported case involving vague threats made on a website.

'I am talking about new evidence that we obtained during the tournament,' he said.

'The matter was taken up by the border authorities, police and secret service and there was no concrete problem after that.'