Police ready for notorious band of 200 Roma 'ultras' who will march on the Etihad
They're due to come to Manchester ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League clash between City and AS Roma
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Police are ready for a notorious band of around 200 Roma ‘ultras’ who will insist on marching together to the Etihad for Tuesday night’s Champions League match against City.
The Italian team will bring around 1,600 supporters to Manchester, and the first wave of fans are expected to fly in on Monday.
Greater Manchester Police is drafting in around officers to make sure the ‘high risk’ fixture passes off without incident.
Extra police officers will be on hand at the airport to greet Italians supporters under orders to try and open dialogue with vising fans.
Even more will be on hand in the city centre in the hours before Tuesday's kick off, including ‘police liaison’ officers who have become commonplace at marches and demonstrations.
They will have Italian interpreters with them to improve communication with the visitors.
Riot police, mounted officers and police dogs will also form part of a significant police operation.
Roma’s hardcore fans, or ‘ultras’, have a fearsome reputation, with fans from Liverpool, Middlesborough and Manchester United being stabbed during previous European encounters.
Police expect those hardcore fans to march en masse from the city centre to the ground, and officers will be ready to make sure their journey is trouble-free.
In 2007 police arrested 18 people outside Old Trafford following violent skirmishes before and after the match.
During the first leg in Rome a week earlier Italian police charge United supporters with batons, a move condemned by United who accused them of handing out ‘indiscriminate beatings’.
Since then Roma have been back to Manchester twice and the fixtures passed off without serious incident following major police operations to keep the peace.
Chief Superintendent John O’Hare said: “GMP is working closely with Manchester City football club to ensure all supporters have a safe and enjoyable experience. Roma supporters do come with a reputation and in 2007 when they played in Manchester we did experience some problems. However since then they have visited the city twice and there were no major issues.
“We have a policing operation in place from Monday evening which includes Manchester Airport and city centre. This will run throughout the day on Tuesday to ensure the day passes off peacefully with minimum disruption to the local area.
“The majority of football supporters will come to Manchester and behave in a responsible manner.
“We will continue to work with both clubs ahead of the return fixture in Roma later in the year.”
