London, June 1 (IANS) Ahead of the much-anticipated Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, security has been beefed up at Wembley Stadium to counter any threat of violence by ardent football fans.
As per a report in The Guardian, more than 2,500 stewards will oversee the crowd attending the match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, while a five-million-pound investment in beefed-up infrastructure is intended to ensure the scenes that marred the Euro 2020 final at the national stadium remain consigned to the past.
During the 2020 European Championship final between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium, 2,000 ticketless home fans violently stormed past the security to get inside the venue to watch the clash.
The last two Champions League finals were also marred with problems and the UEFA was blamed for the mismanagement including the security failures in 2022 in Paris when Liverpool and Madrid fans struggled in crushed queues.
In the last Champions League final at Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, fans complained of transportation problems in accessing the venue.
Keeping the past incidents in mind, Sunday’s final will host the largest deployment of stewards in Wembley.
Police Commander Louise Puddefoot said they want to give an “enjoyable experience” to fans.
“We want fans visiting London for this fantastic event to have a safe and enjoyable experience. There will be visible police and stewarding presence not just around Wembley but at fan zones and other events,” UK’s Evening Standard quoted Puddefoot as saying. “Anyone who sees anything suspicious or who has concerns about safety or security should speak to an officer or a member of the stewarding team,” he added.
Each team was awarded 25,000 tickets in the 86,600-capacity stadium. Other than that, Dortmund fans have a dedicated zone at Hyde Park while Madrid fans at Victoria Embankment.
Fans will be allowed to enter the stadium four hours before kickoff -— rather than the usual two hours.
“It’s vital we deliver and do everything we can control in a best possible way,” said the FA’s tournaments, events, and interim stadium director, Chris Bryant.
“We want this event to be as successful as possible for every reason, not least for the fans and the event in itself, but we know a lot of people will think about the [Euro 2020] final as well. We are in a really good place, we’ve been planning in detail for 18 months.”
–IANS
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