Published on : 27/05/2022 – 15:41
Between 30,000 and 40,000 ticketless Liverpool fans are expected in Paris for Saturday’s Champions League final between the English club and Real Madrid. A security challenge for the French capital.
“Red” alert in Paris? On Saturday May 28, the Liverpool “Reds” face Real Madrid at the Stade de France in the Champions League final. The French capital is beefing up on the security front: between 30,000 and 40,000 of the expected Liverpool supporters – with a sulphurous reputation – do not have a ticket for the match.
The challenge for the French authorities was already daunting. After the relocation of the final initially scheduled for Saint Petersburg at the Stade de France, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, they only had three months to prepare for the event in instead of eighteen, the deadline provided for in the UEFA specifications.
But this challenge was spiced up a little more with the qualification of Liverpool, whose supporters are among the most passionate in Europe. “It is clear that an English club, with the reputation of their supporters, is not quite the same to manage as a Paris SG match”, recognizes a police source.
The Cours de Vincennes transformed into a fan-zone
Nearly 60,000 supporters of the “Reds” are expected by Saturday according to this source. But only 20,000 of them will hold a ticket for the final, the same contingent as that awarded to Madrid.
On the Spanish side, a fan-zone is planned not far from the Stade de France at the Legion of Honor park in Saint-Denis, an area reserved for supporters holding tickets and open from the start of the afternoon on Saturday. “There is not really a subject with the people of Madrid, there will be a little more than the ticket holders but not a lot”, explains a source close to the government.
The security issue focused much more acutely on the management of English supporters and in particular those without tickets. “This is clearly the most sensitive point, security level, of this final”, admits a source close to the organizers. “It’s quite unprecedented to manage. To say that we are worried, maybe not, because we have put in place what is necessary, but extremely vigilant, that yes.”
To try to contain them, the choice fell on the Parisian artery of the Cours de Vincennes, between the Place de la Nation and the Porte de Vincennes, an area again open from Saturday at the start of the afternoon.
Supervised by nearly 500 members of the police force out of the 3,000 mobilized for the final, this area will be dedicated to fans but not only, the idea being that “those who want to party can do so”, explains a source close to the sports authorities.
“If I see supporters, I close the establishment”
But will all the fans go to this fan zone? “We are not going and we cannot force them to go. On the other hand, we have been working with Liverpool for weeks for this”, explains this source. One of the fears of the authorities is that certain groups will spread all over the capital and improvise themselves a base or come across Madrid supporters.
“There is a very small minority who come to get out of control, but it is very far from being the majority. For those who want to party, we offer them suitable elements to do so. themselves find an unorganized space”, explains this source close to the authorities.
The Liverpool club will be the organizer of this fan zone, the security of which is provided by the French Football Federation (FFF), with the police taking over outside the zone.
But this choice of the Parisian artery does not only make people happy. “We were asked but we weren’t really left with a choice”, regrets the entourage of the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. “We were against doing that there and we are very, very afraid of what will happen.”
The massive arrival of these supporters also worries some Parisian traders. “If I see any, I close the direct establishment,” says the manager of a famous restaurant in the city.
With AFP
