Email
Print
Digg This
By Mike Collett
LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - The Russian government urged English fans on Thursday to "show respect" to their hosts when they go to Moscow in their thousands next week for the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea.
Newly-appointed Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that more than 6,000 police and additional officers from the internal military force would be policing the event which is likely to be attended by nearly 50,000 English fans.
He promised there would be no "heavy-handed" policing of the type previously witnessed by English fans in Spain and Italy and said the authorities would act to ensure there were no attacks on fans in revenge for the stabbing of a Russian at Wednesday night's UEFA Cup final between Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester.
Mutko, who had been at the UEFA Cup final and flown back to Moscow overnight, was speaking to United and Chelsea fans via a live video call between Moscow and London.
"I urge you to respect our customs and the people who live in the city. In football there is always a winner and a loser and I ask the losing fans, who will obviously be disappointed, to behave.
"You cannot predict what can happen in football but we will make sure that our guests will be taken care of, that they feel safe and feel our hospitality and have a great time.
"We will do everything we can to ensure the police and military will act in a proper and calm way. We will also make sure there will be no revenge attacks from hooligans."
NO SCREENS
Minister of the Interior Valery Gribakin confirmed that drinking alcohol openly on the streets will not be tolerated and there will be no big screens erected for fans to watch the match on.
However, he said that the authorities were not expecting many fans without tickets to arrive for the game next Wednesday.
Two club pavilions would be erected in Red Square, one for Chelsea supporters and one for United's, and signs in English would be erected to help fans find their way around the city and on the metro system.
More than 700 buses will ferry fans from Moscow's various airports to the stadium on match day and a valid match ticket will count as a visa to enter and leave the country between May 17 and May 25.
However, Vyacheslav Pavlovsky of the Foreign Ministry warned fans not to lose their tickets and to ensure they had them to show the authorities when leaving the country.
"That ticket, for the duration of their stay, is effectively part of their passport and matters could become very complicated if the ticket is lost," he warned.
Mick Groom of the London branch of the Manchester United Supporters' Club said he believed the Russian authorities were doing all they could to ensure a smooth operation.
"They have planned everything with the greatest detail, but they cannot guarantee no heavy-handed policing or no attacks from Russian hooligans. However, I think they are doing everything they can to make it all work."
Darren Mantle of the Chelsea fans' Web site cfcnet.co.uk added: "I agree they have planned it well but I am concerned about heavy-handed policing if fans are drinking close to a restaurant or pub outside on a hot day. I just hope that common sense comes into it for everyone."
