UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:THE THREAT of hooliganism when Manchester United play Rangers in the Champions League has led to security measures being implemented to force supporters of the visitors to the DW Stadium in Wigan as a holding ground in the hours before kick-off.
The two clubs are so determined to avoid a mass invasion of Rangers supporters into central Manchester they have asked Wigan Athletic for permission to use their ground for “catering and rest facilities” as the only stop-off point on the journey from Glasgow.
Wigan’s stadium has also been designated as the official ticket-collection point before a police escort takes the supporters to Old Trafford in a convoy of buses. It will be one of the biggest security operations ever for a match at Old Trafford and has similarities to measures that have been implemented in matches between Millwall and Leeds United, when supporters have been taken to a service station on the M1 to collect their tickets under a heavy police presence.
Rangers have been allocated 4,700 tickets and have stipulated that only travel-club members will be eligible to apply and that everyone who is successful must travel on official coaches, with no option but to adhere to the Wigan plan.
“All fans will meet at the DW Stadium where they will then be transported to Old Trafford,” Rangers said in a statement.
The club will run a campaign in the build-up to the match on 14 September aimed at discouraging fans from travelling independently. “Supporters without tickets are strongly advised not to travel.”
The measures have been brought in after a series of meetings over the past few days involving both clubs, Greater Manchester police, Strathclyde police and supporters’ group representatives, with the priority being to ensure there are as few Rangers fans in Manchester city centre as possible.
An estimated 150,000 fans invaded Manchester when the team reached the Uefa Cup final in 2008, and when a giant television screen showing the match crashed it led to several hours of rioting, causing hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of damage.
Two years on, the biggest fear of the police is that ticketless Rangers supporters will again travel in large numbers, and that the potential for trouble has been exacerbated because United’s own hooligan element will be seeking revenge.
There are also concerns about a large number of English trouble-makers planning wide-scale problems when Alex Ferguson’s team travel to Ibrox on November 24th.
Guardian Service
